Lou Sanders will curate and headline the second Empire Nights at Hackney Empire on Friday 29 January 2027, with Joe Lycett, Frankie Thompson, Ayoade Bamgboye and the cabaret collective Figs in Wigs on her bill.
Tickets cost £17.50 to £30, plus a £1.50 fee per ticket booked online or by phone and a £2 building restoration levy. The show starts at 8pm and is for ages 16 and over. A music act is still to be announced.
“We are having a special party to celebrate Hackney Empire, there’s going to be weird acts, great music and old school snogging! Come along,” Sanders said in the announcement.
Who is on the bill
Sanders is known from Taskmaster. She has played Hackney Empire several times as part of Live at the Empire, but this will be her first time headlining her own show there, according to BroadwayWorld.
Lycett, who appeared on Celebrity Traitors, last played the theatre three years ago at a charity fundraiser. Bamgboye won Best Newcomer at the 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Awards and appears in SNL UK. Thompson is a clown performer.
A new series for the theatre’s anniversary
Empire Nights is a run of one-off nights of comedy, music and performance, each curated by a different guest. The theatre says the format draws on its history as the home of New Variety.
The first edition was curated by Jamali Maddix and headlined by Kurupt FM. The series is part of an anniversary programme marking the theatre’s 125 years, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The essentials
- What: Empire Nights with Lou Sanders, with Joe Lycett, Frankie Thompson, Ayoade Bamgboye and Figs in Wigs (line-up subject to change)
- Where: Hackney Empire, 291 Mare Street, London E8 1EJ
- When: Friday 29 January 2027, 8pm
- Tickets: £17.50-£30, plus £1.50 per ticket online or by phone and a £2 restoration levy
- Age: 16+
- Box office: 020 8985 2424
- Booking: Hackney Empire