London’s world-famous Jazz Cafe is set to transform a former theatre in east London into a new venue.
The Jazz Cafe has been at the heart of Camden’s music scene for decades and over the years, the venue has hosted the likes of Jamiroquai, Amy Winehouse, Gil Scott-Heron, and many more.
The art deco Rex Theatre on Stratford High Street, which has sat empty for over two years, will be transformed into Jazz Cafe East, Newham Council has announced.
The Rex was built in 1896 and was originally used as a theatre and opera house before it closed in 1933 and was converted into a cinema.
After the cinema closed in 1969, it became a bingo hall and later was turned into the Stratford Rex nightclub, before that too closed down.
Newham Council repossessed the building in 2013, but it has been largely vacant since.
The venue will be brought back to life by the Colombo Group, who run a number of London sites, including party pub The Old Queen’s Head in Islington and nightclub Phonox in Brixton.
Jazz Cafe also recently expanded to set up the Jazz Cafe festival in 2024 in Burgess Park and is set to return for its second year in August.
Newham described the plans for the new Jazz Cafe venue as a “huge economic boost of confidence in the area” and hopes it will help transform Stratford into London’s newest cultural hub.
Jazz Cafe is the latest London institution to announce a site in Stratford, with the V&A due to open an east London museum in the area on May 31.
New affordable artists’ studios will also be built nearby at the Grade II-listed North Block of Alice Billing House.
The site has been awarded £2.9m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to refurbish the site and will include a public café, gallery and courtyard space as well as the new studios.
The work will take the building off Historic England’s At-Risk register and follows the success of the work completed on the South Block of the former firefighters’ accommodation.
Responding to the news of Jazz Cafe’s latest project, the Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, said: “Jazz Café East promises to let residents in Newham have world-class entertainment on their doorstep.
“It is a show of confidence for the future of the borough, which will bring with it jobs and prosperity.
“Businesses are waking up to see all that the borough and its people have to offer.
“It is vitally important to get the right partners in as part of our Building Newham’s Creative Future cultural strategy which is a big part of our plans for Building a Fairer Newham.”
