The theatre, which features a 960-seat auditorium, four bars, and a restaurant, will open to the public on Friday 2nd May, reports Marco Marcelline

The first pictures of the new Soho Theatre Walthamstow have been revealed as the Hoe Street venue prepares to finally open its doors to the public on Friday (2nd May).

The opening follows years of painstaking restoration work that pays tribute to the building’s 100 year history as a live performance space.

American actor and comedian Natalie Palamides’s one-woman show WEER will open proceedings before a packed summer line-up that includes Tim Minchin, Dara O’Briain, Sara Pascoe, Mark Watson, Adam Kay, and many others. 

The much anticipated £30million theatre was originally scheduled to open in March 2023, and then February 2024, with developers Wilmott Dixon blaming delays on the challenges of returning the Grade 2*-listed building to its “former glory”.

The theatre features a 960-seat auditorium alongside brand new studio spaces, backstage facilities, four bars (Main Foyer, Ziggurat, Cross Hall and Circle), and a restaurant. 

The in-house food and beverage offer includes Neon, Soho Theatre’s own lager with Adnams and East London Brewery brewed locally in the borough, and Curry On Naanstop who will serve Mumbai street food. 

The theatre will also host building tours and cross-borough events such as a two-day film festival celebrating Walthamstow’s contribution to the world of cinema from 1800 to the present day. The festival is curated by The McGuffin Film Society, which was based at the former Granada cinema until its closure 22 years ago. 

Meanwhile, a lively and eclectic creative engagement programme includes activities for all ages such as music tech sessions for young creatives to writing workshops for anyone aged 16 and up, storytelling fun for small children, theatre sessions for older residents and a whole range of taster workshops for aspiring adult artists who want to try their hand at comedy, cabaret, drag or playwriting. 

The renovation of the former cinema has cost at least £30m, but Waltham Forest estimates it will add about £52m to the local economy in the next decade and says it forms a key part of the vision for Walthamstow to become a “cultural hotspot” in the capital. 

First opened in 1897, in 1930 the Hoe Street building was redeveloped into the Granada Theatre and opened with interior decoration inspired by the Alhambra Palace in Spain. From the mid-1950s globally famous artists including The Beatles, Dusty Springfield, and the Rolling Stones performed there.

In 1973 the Granada became a cinema, changing owners until it became known as the EMD Cinema, eventually closing in 2003.

A grassroots campaign was soon launched by concerned locals who wanted to maintain its historic use as an entertainment venue and wrest the building back from an international evangelical Christian group who wanted to turn it into a church.

The group eventually sold the building to pub chain Antic in 2014, who briefly ran the bar Mirth, Marvel and Maud. Soho Theatre reached an agreement with Waltham Forest Council to operate the venue in 2019. 

According to the council, the Spanish-Arabic inspired interior of the building was restored using the arrested decay approach, which is commonly used in the conservation of historic buildings. With arrested decay, there’s no aim to replicate a pristine original and ignore everything that came after; instead it freezes it in time so the building reveals its own history through the layers of different exposed paints and textures. 

Interior designer Jane Wheeler of JaneJaney Design told the Echo about how the arrested decay approach was decided: “It was a challenge. We had to think deeply about what design route we were going down. Were we going to go back to the original 1930s style of the building or were we going to preserve the journey the building has gone through since it opened?” 

Ultimately, Soho Theatre felt that “preserving the journey” of the building’s history was a preferable route to take. Jane said: “Opting for this design route was important for Soho Theatre, but also for the local community. So many people from the borough will have been here over the years, and we wanted them to come back and be able to recognise parts of their time here.”

According to architect Gareth Wilkins of Pilbrow & Partners, the public’s reaction to the space during pre-opening events has been overwhelmingly positive. He said: “People seem to be absolutely loving it, I mean, for a start, they’re over the moon that the building is up and running again as a theatre. It’s so sad that it was in such a bad state, so to see it repaired [in this way] is just really brilliant.”

Co-executive director of Soho Theatre Walthamstow Mark Godfrey added: “Some people [who see the inside of the theatre] get quite emotional and talk about the fact that they came here as a child and they saw this particular film here and they’re just blown away by connecting with those early memories.

“However, some people that have lived here said ‘I had no idea that this building existed’ or what it meant because obviously you have to have been here for more than 22 years to have come here. Both of those experiences are really fantastic to see.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I’m delighted that Soho Theatre Walthamstow has breathed new life into this historic London venue. With a world-class comedy line up alongside a creative programme for the local community, the theatre is set to become a huge asset – not just for Walthamstow but London as a whole. 

“It’s a fantastic legacy from Waltham Forest’s year as my very first London Borough of Culture, and an excellent example of the power of culture to transform areas and inspire communities.”

Check the full list of events and book tickets here

You can see more pictures of Natalie Palamides’ performance on photographer Penny Dampier’s Instagram page

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