The Ugly Sisters Picture ^
Susie has worked in Pantomime throughout her entire career; playing her first Principal Boy at Oldham Coliseum at the age of 19, and going on to appear as Principal Boy at Nottingham Playhouse for eight years, written and directed by Kenneth Alan Taylor.
Susie McKenna meets Hackney Empire
The start of her 21-years of Hackney Empire Pantomimes
After writing and directing Hackney Empire’s first ‘in house’ pantomime, Dick Whittington, in 1998, Susie wrote and directed the critically acclaimed, legendary pantomimes there every year, (all with Composer Steven Edis) up until 2020’s 21st anniversary production of Dick Whittington, which was set in post-war London 1948 as Dick arrives on the SS Empire Windrush, for which she won Best Director at the Great British Pantomime awards.
Cinderella in 1999 was not only the show where she fell in love with actor Sharon D. Clarke playing alongside her as Fairy Godmother and Dandini respectively but also launched the Hackney Empire appeal – headed up by Griff Rhys Jones and attended by HRH King Charles (then Prince of Wales). The theatre raised 7.5 million over the next few years and re opened with Arts council and Heritage fund match funding in 2004.
Susie's Hackney Empire Pantomime Legacy
We Came Back with a BANG!
In 2004 the Hackney Empire was back, and the pantomime, Aladdin, opened with many of the team returning including Clive Rowe, Kat B, Tony Whittle on stage, creatives?? Steven Edis, designer Lotte Collett, Choreographer Frank Thompson and back stage team including CSM Vanessa Sutherland.
The Reason the Panto was so Special
The Hackney Panto created a family of artists, creatives, stage management and crew with many working on the shows up until 2020, plus many returners over the years. Mark Dickman (MD); John Blunden DSM; sound designer Avgoustos Psillis; choreographers Carl Parris and Richard Roe; Associate director and actor Matt Dempsey; Actors Tameka Empson, Joanne Riding, Tony Timberlake, Darren Hart and Sharon D. Clarke to name but a few.
We Became a Family
My rock throughout the 22 years was Hackney Empire’s technical director and best man at my wedding to Sharon on the Empire stage in 2008: Othman (Hoffman) Reid.
The family is too numerous to mention everyone but this incredible special set of people made the Hackney Empire Pantomime what it is today.