Gala raises Hackney Empire funds

The building project cost £17m and took three years to complete

A fundraising gala will be staged on Tuesday to help raise funds for the Hackney Empire, where Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel once trod the boards.

The event at the Rex Cinema and Bar in the West End will showcase the work of Hackney artists and fashion designers.

All proceeds will go towards a £700,000 shortfall left after the theatre's multi-million pound refit last year.

The night is being hosted by a City law firm as part of businessman Sir Alan Sugar's Hackney Empire Challenge.

In the afternoon, sponsored cinema screenings will be held for community leaders and local school children.

Exhibition space

As part of the challenge, teams from corporations were pitted against each other in tests based on Sir Alan's BBC TV show, The Apprentice.

Five people from law firm CMS Cameron McKenna won the chance to host the event at the venue and had just 12 days to organise it.

The £17m three-year building project completed last September includes an education studio/small scale theatre, a hospitality and exhibition space and public lifts.

The building is named after Marie Lloyd (The Queen of Halls), who performed at the theatre alongside entertainers such as Stan Laurel, Charlie Chaplin, and WC Fields, before World War I.