Hackney Empire unveils development programme

Hackney Empire is scheduled to unveil the second phase of its development programme on 14 September. The renovated venue includes a new 24-ton visual identity at the front of the building, an education studio, the Marie Lloyd Rendezvous Bar (pictured), and a hospitality suite by Tim Ronalds and Ronald Muldoon, with graphic design by Crescent Lodge. Creative director Muldoon says, ‘We have incorporated modern design with the old. We didn’t want to have anything corny-modern – not too much glass. We didn’t want people to feel as if they were on display like something in a goldfish bowl. We wanted the bar, in particular, to be something unique.’