The following gives an overview of disabled access and the services we offer at Hackney Picturehouse and is designed to assist you in planning your visit.
Building Layout
Ground FloorScreen 4
| The Box Office
| The Restaurant and Bar
| WCs and Disabled Toilet
Level 1Staff Only
Level 2Education Suite
| WCs and Disabled Toilets
Level 3Screen 1
| Screen 2
| The Gallery and Bar | Screen 5 | Screen 6
Level 4Screen 3
| Disabled Toilet
Level 5Hackney Attic (access via platform lift)
| Alternative entry to Screen 1 (access via platform lift)
| Alternative entry to Screen 2
| WCs and Disabled Toilet
Wheelchair Spaces
All of our screens have multiple wheelchair spaces. Listed below are the permanent spaces that can be booked online.
In all of our screens, we can also remove seats to create extra wheelchair spaces. These are usually in the front row, except in Screen 2, where we can create extra spaces at the back.
Please contact us by telephone or in person if you wish to book multiple spaces.
Screen 1Two permanent spaces, one in row A (front) and one in row K (back)
Screen 2One permanent space in row J (back)
Screen 3One permanent space in row A (front)
Screen 4One permanent space in row A (front)
Screen 5One permanent space in row A (front) -
currently not accessible due to an issue with the lift.Screen 6One permanent space in row A (front)
Guide dogs and hearing dogs
Guide dogs are welcome at Hackney Picturehouse. If you wish to take a dog into a performance, please let us know when booking so we can arrange an aisle seat. We will be happy to provide drinking water for your dog.
Customers with hearing difficulties
Assisted hearing facilities
There are infrared facilities in most of our screens. To use the infrared system, please ask for a headset at the Box Office. You will be asked for a £5 deposit for the equipment, which will be fully refunded when you return the equipment at the end of the screening. The headset plays the film soundtrack, but more loudly.
Subtitled (Caption) Screenings
We offer regular Subtitled (Captioned) screenings, which provide a transcription of the audio from a film, displayed at the bottom of the cinema screen. Along with the dialogue from the film, the subtitles include non-dialogue audio such as "(sighs)" or "(door creaks)" to ensure people who are deaf or hard of hearing can enjoy the full film plot. These screenings may also benefit those with English as a second language. Subtitled screenings are programmed every Sunday (midday) and Tuesday (evening). Please note that not all films are provided with a Subtitlde (Captioned) track, so some weeks we may have fewer subtitled screenings as a result.
Customers With Impaired Vision
We offer a range of facilities for those with visual impairments, which include contrasting floor textures and stair nosings. Steps in the auditoria are illuminated. There is voice indication in the lifts, and we can produce menus and brochures in large print on request.
If you need a guide during your visit, please let us know on 0871 902 5734.
Audio Description
Audio Description (AD) is a narrated soundtrack where the action, scene changes and the actors' body language is described for people with sight loss. This additional soundtrack is broadcast through wireless headsets so only the wearer can hear it, and fits within the silent gaps in a film so it doesn't interfere with the dialogue. Headsets are available to borrow at the box office. Ask at the Box Office for a headset and you will be able to listen to an additional audio commentary that describes what is happening on screen. Headsets require a £5 deposit, which will be refunded fully when you return the headset at the end of the screening. AD is available for films where an AD track has been created (most films do have an AD track, but not all). To find out if a performance is available with Audio Description, please check the film listings on our website where they are clearly identified, ask a member of staff at the cinema, or contact the Accessibility Helpline.
Disabled Parking
The cinema does not have any parking of its own. There are parking bays for Blue Badge holders on Wilton Way (outside and around the corner from Hackney Empire) and on nearby Sylvester Road. There is limited parking for Blue Badge holders on single yellow lines on Valette Street to the rear of the Picturehouse (maximum three hours, and with no return for an hour), and in the Pay and Display car park on Amhurst Road next to Hackney Central station.
Drop-offs are permitted outside the front door for customers with limited mobility.
Bookings and General Enquiries
Wheelchair spaces and Carers tickets are bookable online (for Carers Tickets please see Carers section). Alternatively to book wheelchair spaces or carer tickets by phone, or for all other accessibility enquires, please call our dedicated accessibility hotline 020 7294 7908 (Text Relay call 18001 02072 947908).
