Olivier Award nominated actress, television star and comedian Tameka Empson (EastEnders, The Big Life, 3 Non Blondes) for its landmark 20th anniversary pantomime from writer and director Susie McKenna in a sparkling new production of Aladdin opening this Christmas.
Tameka Empson makes a much-anticipated return to the Hackney stage where she performed regularly between 2004 and 2009 before being cast as Kim Fox-Hubbard in EastEnders. Aladdin will mark her first stage appearance since joining the soap and will see her return to the role of the Empress alongside Hackney Empire’s Olivier Award-winning Grande Dame Clive Rowe. Aladdin will run from 24 November 2018 to 6 January 2019, with opening night for press on 5 December.
Writer and director Susie McKenna will mark two decades at the helm of the now legendary show with composer Steven Edis. During their tenure the Hackney panto has grown to become one of the city’s most anticipated annual highlights and a champion for culture and community in the East End. Now established as the number one pantomime in London, Hackney Empire’s annual offering continues to attract record numbers year on year, locally, nationally and internationally, with more people from Hackney attending than ever before.
Tameka Empson rose to fame as co-creator and one of three pranksters in the BBC hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non Blondes and is well known for playing the role of Kim Fox-Hubbard in EastEnders for which she has received numerous awards including four-times winner of Inside Soap’s Funniest Female Performance. Other screen credits include Jonathan Harvey’s BBC 2 sitcom Beautiful People and film Beautiful Thing, ITV thriller Whitechapel, the Oscar nominated film Notes on a Scandal, and she has competed in the 2016 series of Strictly Come Dancing. On stage, Tameka’s credits include Mrs Aphrodite in the original cast of The Big Life (Stratford East and West End) for which she received the Olivier Award nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in A Musical, Our House (West End), Top Girls (West End and UK Tour) and her one-woman show Marcia Brown – The Unsung Diva! (Edinburgh Festival). She made her Hackney Empire panto debut in Aladdin in 2004 as the Genie of the Ring, returning in Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Dick Whittington, Mother Goose and lastly as the Empress of China in Aladdin in 2009 in which she also starred with Clive Rowe. During this period, she also co-wrote and co-starred in the GeeStore and Hackney Empire production The Kat and Tameka Show with DJ and Empire regular Kat B, and worked with emerging talent and young people as part of Hackney Empire’s Creative Futures programme.
Tameka Empson said: “I am so excited to be performing in Hackney Empire’s Aladdin pantomime this Christmas. After a gap of nine years from doing panto from 2004 to 2009 at the Empire, I’m looking forward to rejoining the creative team, cast, and crew and having fun with the likes of Susie McKenna – funny lady both on and off stage, Steve Edis – who gets me to hit the high note every time, and Clive Rowe – need I say more, to name but a few! It is especially exciting as we will be celebrating 20 years of panto at the Empire. I’m not just saying it because I’m in it but there’s panto and then there’s Hackney Empire’s panto – you won’t want to miss it. See you there!”
All the way in Ha Ka Ney, on the outskirts of old Peking, young Aladdin dreams of finding love and making his fortune. When he discovers an enchanted lamp and meets a mysterious genie, it looks like all his wishes are about to come true – with the help of tap-dancing pandas and his larger-than-life mum, can he win the hand of his Princess or will an evil magician, some madcapped policemen and a very large pile of laundry stand in his way?
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