Dalston’s independent theatre, Evolutionary Arts Hackney (EartH), asked Hackney Council to let it stay open until 5am on Fridays and Saturdays, arguing that it would be a precious lifeline in a climate where the UK was rapidly losing similar grassroots venues.
EartH’s director Auro Foxcroft, a designer and campaigner against gentrification, launched the former art-deco cinema on Kingsland Road as a multi-events arts space in 2018. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the decision had afforded the business some much-needed certainty in an era where it was in short supply.
“The profit margins for running music venues are so thin, there’s only the resilience there to withstand very minor shocks,” he said. “Making this shift enables us to fit in a new early live music shows before. It creates a lot more programming opportunities.”
The crew behind Village Underground converted the art deco cinema into a multi-purpose arts venue on Dalston’s bustling Kingsland Road in 2018. Image: Google(Image: )
A clutch of local residents had pressed the council to reject the theatre’s application, fearing noise disturbances and anti-social behaviour from people “loitering” around the theatre’s doors into the early morning hours. Ms Serina Gill, who lives a few yards away from the building, said she couldn’t sleep due to the “unrelenting” noise. She argued that the neighbourhood was also made to feel unsafe as crowds left the venue and spilled out into the road or – in some cases – took drugs in the street.
“This is not about opposing culture or creativity in Dalston,” she said. “I no longer feel confident that I can rest properly in my own home.”
Yet scores of supporters wrote in urging the council to approve the plans. Dalston resident of two decades Matt Wilson credited EartH for the area’s “rejuvenation” from far more dangerous days when taxi drivers refused to drop him back home. “I’d hate to see [the venue] go bankrupt and for us to take a step backward,” he said.
Another neighbour, Jessica Cole, agreed that she felt safer coming home to a “pumping street” and praised the business for doing a “stellar job” of balancing entertainment and residents’ needs. “It’s absolutely noisy as hell sometimes,” she said, “[and] there’s always going to be some bad eggs who are drunk who throw rubbish around, but I don’t think that’s a problem unique to EartH or to Dalston.”
The council made it a condition that no-one be allowed to enter the premises after 2am.
‘London’s creative heart’
Mr Foxcroft, who is also the brains behind Shoreditch ’s Village Underground, was also supported by the Music and Venues Trust (MVT) who argued that granting the later licence would help secure EartH’s future and safeguard the borough’s reputation as the “creative heart of London”. In 2024, the MVT reported that one grassroots music venue was shuttering across the country roughly once every two weeks.
“EartH’s vision is to present a truly broad program to reflect the wonderfully diverse communities of Hackney,” Mr Foxcroft said. “To this end, we have recently hosted artists from across the globe, [including] Mali, Nigeria, Taiwan, Turkey, India, Argentina, and we would like to do more of that.” Comics including James Acaster, Ed Gamble, Lucy Beaumont, Rosie Jones and Dylan Moran have also graced its stage.
The EartH boss said the business was grateful to have the Hackney Council as its licensing authority, but also lucky to have “really great” neighbours. “Now, we have more certainty – to invest in equipment, to take more artistic risks, and to do the things grassroots music venues do best: creating a future not only for themselves but for artists and fans.”
