The Hen & Chickens Theatre

A local theatre pub for me and an institution. The pub downstairs is reasonable but quite small and crowded so you have to wait a bit to get served. Upstairs in the theatre, the space is also quite small. No issue with that since it’s great to see small productions (comedy, plays etc) they have on here but in the small space on the last visit it was so hot and lacking in ventilation that my shirt was soaked with sweat by the end and I was gasping for water and couldn’t wait to get out into the fresh air. The play we saw was pretty good but I don’t know how to actors managed to do it in the stifling atmosphere. Surely the issue could be solved by opening the vents, windows and fans to blast fresh air through the place before the show starts or turn on the air conditioner before and during the play (there was one on the wall but not powerful enough).

Great little place with a lot of character. Anita is the best! Come for one of their many many beers and stay for a show upstairs in the intimate theatre. Close to tube stops and in a nice location.

The Hens & Chickens Theatre is actually a theatre bar — bar downstairs, theatre upstairs. And both of them small.
Seriously small. When we came in for a show, the bar was packed full of people to the point that it was awkwardly crowded to even try to order a drink, much less drink it. And forget trying to get across the room to use the bathroom, that’s a whole separate adventure.
Upstairs is a tiny theatre, seating about 30 people. Rows of chairs in the back, small stage area up front (no real stage, just a section for the scene to go on). I saw a play here and it was a great show and very intimate. I was pressed up against the guy next to me and felt like I was on the stage. Mostly because I was.
Be warned, it is very very warm in this spot, all throughout the place (both downstairs and upstairs) and we came in the winter. I can only imagine what it’s like in the summer.
Still, I see the advantages of a small theatre like this. They do a lot of comedy here and, as legend has it, The Mighty Boosh played a lot of their first shows right here and had a regular gig on Monday Nights. And if it’s good enough for the Boosh, it’s good enough for me.

Great little venue in essentially the heart of london. Well in my hear of london anyway, your just off upper st, which in my opinion, has the coolest amd most interesting food and restaurants and bakies etc in the whole on london on it! Hens and chickens is a 56 seater venue! Its also where I’m appaearing in ‘gameplan’ by Alan Ayckbourn until tomorrow night so get booking if you want to come see it! Shameless pluggin I know. Great venue, friendly bar staff!

Nice venue, the downstairs bar is quite small, so it can be a little claustrophobic at peak times (such as Arsenal matchdays).
The upstairs theatre seems to host a wide variety of acts– from amateur drama to professional stand-​ups– but is far from the largest of venues so big acts sell out very quickly.
The venue is two minutes walk from Highbury & Islington station (which is on Victoria & Overground lines– as well as national rail) so is easy to get to.

Great pub located on Highbury corner.
Gets really busy, has a youngish crowd, students, yong prefessionals etc.
There is a good theatre upstairs which is why the pub can get really busy, especialyl good for comedy.
This is also where the Mighty Boosch started their careers!
Noice noice!

It’s a great pub this. Seemingly always something going on. It’s normally quite busy, but in a good way.
The little theatre upstairs has a great reputation for comedy shows and I’d recommend keeping an eye on the listings page. A lot of the well known stand-​up comedians stop by to try out new material before hitting the arenas. A bargain and a chance to get right up close to the performers.
The pub itself fine enough. Solid selection of beers and ciders to choose from and the food is pretty good too — just stick to the classics. It’s the people and the fun atmosphere that make this place what it is though. Friday and Saturday nights are a lot of fun.
Just watch your belongings though…

I’ve passed the Hen and Chicken everyday for the past six months, and had never been until just two nights ago. I must say, I am sad about all the missed opportunities!
It was a bit more crowded than I was in the mood for that particular night, but the crowd seemed to be quite decent. It seemed to be the student/​young professional crowd.
The bar staff was super friendly, even when there were innumerable patrons awaiting their libations. The staff always made time for each customer and were polite as polite can be.
The outdoor seating area is quite decent, except for the fact that you can’t have a pint outside after 11pm. But it is good to be respectful.
Decent, reasonably priced beer selection, too… which never hurts.
Can’t wait to go back!

This pub wins the award for the most tautological name ever. I went here with my mother, because that’s how I roll… bling bling.
The downstairs bar area was busy when I went mid-​week and seemed groovy. Being served beer in plastic cups is always a sign of class. (This isn’t due to the target market for the pub, but because they won’t allow you to take glass upstairs into the theatre.)
I went to a show upstairs as well. The theatre was pleasantly grungy and very small, so you definitely get close to the performers. I was told that apparently the people I saw are famous English comedians, not that I’d know anything about famous English people (apart from Jordan of course, because of her generous spirit and other attributes). Apart from the fact that I had to get most of the jokes translated from idiomatic British English into a form of English the rest of the world speaks, it was a good night out. As for value, it was £8 or so for 1 hour which is a little high, especially as I assume there’s a huge variation in the quality of the performers.
I only give this 3 stars because at one point I had to explain to my mother a joke involving a particularly disturbing sexual act which detracted somewhat from the evening. This is not a mother friendly venue.

This place has one thing going for it: its quite close proximity to the Highbury & Islington tube station, which is just one stop away from King’s Cross on the Victoria line.
The downstairs pub area was crowded, and getting a drink from the bar was no small feat. The upstairs theatre area was intimate but a bit naff. The seat I chose was on the uncomfortable side and any time I shifted the person next to me found himself surprisingly shifted as well. Like a see-​saw. But not as fun. (Don’t sit on the back row right by the control room.)
The cost of the show at £7 wasn’t really worth travelling out of zone 1 for and paying an online booking fee, if you ask me. Trevor Lock was in truly bizarre form, and the low mean IQ level of the audience made his stream-​of-​consciousness comedy a bit strained at times.
I really wanted to get the tickets to see Russell Howard and waited online until they went on sale and immediately tried to buy them, but, alas, the Hen & Chickens Theatre Bar website foiled my plans with its the-​tickets-​are-​on-​sale-​OH-​not-​anymore-​better-​luck-​next-​time-​sucker shenanigans.
When we walked up to the building, we saw Matt Berry, David Walliams, Matt Lucas and another guy who’s also in mainstream comedy but whose name I don’t know just hanging around outside, having a drink. I suppose this says something about the Hen & Chicken Theatre Bar’s reputation as a comedy hub, but unless there was a show I really wanted to see (like Russell Howard, curse you Hen & Chicken!) I don’t think I would be rushing to return any time soon.

The bar of this place is much smaller than the other theatre bars around here and it can get totally rammed in the evening as it’s a popular choice around Highbury and Islington, the immediate surroundings of which are pretty scabby. Easy to reach from the tube (unless you count the hectic dangers of crossing Highbury Corner), fairly arty and quite pretty inside, this is a great place to pop for a drink of an evening.

When I walked into the Hen and Chickens Theatre Bar my nostrils were assailed with the smell of beer! Since I am not a beer drinker or a fan of the smell of beer I was immediately ready to leave. But since I was meeting folks there and was the first to arrive I was forced to order a drink and wait. As far as pubs go, the Hen & Chickens was pretty standard. The only interesting bit was that there is a theatre upstairs. I did spend a moment looking to see who was performing but nothing caught my eye. The bar staff was friendly and I ordered a drink and sat at one of the high tables waiting. There were two other people in the pub so I was able to just look around.
Overall I wasn’t very impressed with the Hen & Chickens and as soon as my friends arrived I insisted that we leave, the smell of beer was just too overwhelming. To be fair the smell could be remnants of a blow out Saturday, who knows. Additionally, I would go back to check out the theatre but not to hang out in the pub.

This is a beautiful Victorian pub with an impressive comedy and theatre heritage. Upstairs in the pub is an intimate 54 seat theatre venue, where Unrestricted View, (legendary writing, producing and performance duo), have had a residency for nine years. The downstairs bar is quite small and does get really busy, not surprising considering the prime location of Hen and Chickens, just over the road from Highbury and Islington tube station. This is also the venue in which ‘Arctic Boosh’, an early Noël Fielding and Julian Barrett production, was first, and subsequently extensively, performed. Cosy, nice location and ringing with the ghosts of comedy past, I’d recommend you visit.

The Hen and Chicken Theatre is a great comedy venue in the heart of North London.
This place boasts a great line up from month to month. I first went to the Hen and Chickens as my friend was gearing up for the Edinburgh Fringe. He wanted to test some material with his partner as a warm-​up. The bar is situated downstairs with the cosy little theatre above the pub. I had a great night at The Hen and Chickens. Not only was it a great chance to see some underground comedy, we also had a drink in the gorgeous little bar downstairs afterwards.
I’ve wanted to go back since as bigger comedians like Frankie Boyle and Harry Hill test out their material there often as well. It’s a great chance to see the big boys in a more intimate setting.
The whole venue completely lacks in pretension and I would thoroughly recommend visiting if you’re around Islington and fancy doing something a little different on a week night.