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All good things come to those who wait, and boy have we been waiting a long time for Soho Theatre Walthamstow. The sister venue to central London’s beloved Soho Theatre has been in the works since before the pandemic, but finally we know when it’ll be upon us: that is it say – May 2, when it’ll reopen with a run for LA clown genius Natalie Palamides’s superb new show Weer.
Formerly the Walthamstow Granada cinema – beloved by Alfred Hitchcock – in its 1930s zenith it was a huge draw, with its single screen having a capacity just shy of 2,700, many times more than any single screen in the UK today. It continued as a cinema until 2003, and has been in an awkward limbo for much of the last two decades: an evangelical church purchased it with the intention of turning it into a religious building, but a local campaign saw those plans off (planning permission was denied); it spent five years as eccentric Antic pub Mirth, Marvel and Maud (yes, that was its name) before Waltham Forest purchased the building in 2019 to facilitate the new Soho Theatre venue.
The big question in the years since it was announced is what precisely will the programming be like? Though dating back to 1969, the original Soho Theatre has found a twenty-first century niche as a comedy venue first and foremost, with a side-helping of leftfield cabaret and theatre. Its warren-like series of studios and penchant for late night programming give it a sort of permanent festival vibe, with many hip comedians bedding in for a few weeks when they come to town.
Soho Theatre Walthamstow is a totally different beast: quite aside from the fact it’s in a Zone 3 suburb, it’s also got a far larger main house (960-capacity versus 160 at Soho central). Although it does have a couple of studio spaces, the main house is the focus, meaning it’s clearly unlikely that it would have the same programming model as the original venue. And so it’s proven, although comedy remains at the heart of the bill.
While Palamides is a relative superstar in leftfield comic circles, the venue is just too big for many longer runs and will instead serve as a touring destination to Soho-friendly comics – Ahir Shah (May 16), Mark Watson (May 17), Dara Ó Briain (May 21) and Sarah Keyworth (Jun 14) will be among some of the first to drop in for one night.
There are a few longer runs, however: Soho-nurtured performance artist Bryony Kimmings will make her long-awaited return with Bogwitch (Oct 9-25), a new work about the impact falling in love with an eco-warrior had on her already chaotic life. And come Christmas there will be a panto, written and directed by no less than Susie McKenna, who masterminded the golden age of the Hackney Empire pantomime – Aladdin & The Magic Lamp has dates TBC but one assumes it’ll run roughly when all pantomimes tend to run.
Plus, inevitably, plenty more besides.
Tickets to Soho Theatre Walthamstow’s first season will go on sale at 10am on Thursday January 30. In the first year there will be 15,000 £15 tickets available to locals.