Theatre
TheLyric Theatre , also known as theLyric Hammersmith , is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, offKing Street ,Hammersmith , London.[ 1]
The Lyric Theatre was originally amusic hall established in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, Hammersmith.[ 1] Success as an entertainment venue led it to be rebuilt and enlarged on the same site twice, firstly in 1890[ 2] and then in 1895 by the English theatrical architectFrank Matcham . The 1895 reopening, as The New Lyric Opera House, was accompanied by an opening address by the famous actressLillie Langtry .[ 1]
In 1966 the theatre was due to be closed and demolished. However, a successful campaign to save it led to the auditorium being dismantled and reinstalled piece by piece within a modern shell on its current site on King Street, a short distance from the former Bradmore Grove location. The relocated theatre opened in 1979.[ 3]
It has two main performance areas: theMain House , a 565-seat 19th-century auditorium maintaining the original design which hosts its main productions; and the 120-seatStudio , which houses smaller productions by up-and-coming companies. The Lyric also presents frequentLyric Children andLyric Music performances as well asSunday Night Comedy .[ 1]
A major redevelopment project at the Lyric, with new facilities for young people and the local community was completed in 2015. Designed byRick Mather Architects,[ 4] it was nominated in the 'community benefit' and 'tourism and leisure' categories at the RICS Awards 2016, London.[ 5]
In 2011, the Lyric won theOlivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre forSean Holmes ' production ofSarah Kane 'sBlasted .[ 6]
Its artistic director isRachel O'Riordan , who succeeded Sean Holmes in February 2019.[ 7] Its executive director is Amy Belson.[ 8]
The Lyric's programme is divided into five strands:
Main House Studio Music & Comedy Lyric Children Lyric Young Company[ 1] (Source: theLyric official website[ 9] )
A Doll's House 2019 Noises Off 2019 Ghost Stories 2019City of Glass , 2017The Seagull , 2017Herons , bySimon Stephens , 2016Cinderella , 2015Tipping The Velvet , 2015Bugsy Malone , 2015Secret Theatre , 2015Secret Theatre , 2014Secret Theatre , 2013Steptoe and Son produced byKneehigh Theatre , 2013Metamorphosis byFranz Kafka , adapted by Gísli Örn Garðarsson andDavid Farr , 2013Alice by Heart bySteven Sater andDuncan Sheik , 2012Father Christmas byRaymond Briggs , adapted by Pins and Needles Productions, 2012Cinderella byJoel Horwood andMorgan Lloyd Malcolm , 2012Desire Under the Elms byEugene O'Neill , 2012Morning bySimon Stephens , 2012Three Kingdoms bySimon Stephens , 2012A Midsummer Night's Dream byWilliam Shakespeare , 2012Lovesong byAbi Morgan , 2012Aladdin byJoel Horwood ,Morgan Lloyd Malcolm andSteve Marmion , 2011Saved byEdward Bond , 2011The Wild Bride created byKneehigh Theatre , 2011Mogadishu by Vivienne Franzmann, 2011Roald Dahl 's Twisted Tales , 2011Dick Whittington and his Cat , byJoel Horwood ,Morgan Lloyd Malcolm andSteve Marmion , 2010Blasted bySarah Kane , 2010The Big Fella (21 September – 16 October 2010)Punk Rock bySimon Stephens , 2010Lifegame (7 – 17 July 2010)Tightrope (17 – 19 June 2010)A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (7 May – 5 June 2010)Spymonkey'sMoby Dick (20 April – 1 May 2010)Ghost Stories (24 February – 3 April 2010)Three Sisters (6 January – 20 February 2010)Jack and the Beanstalk (21 November 2009 – 9 January 2010Comedians (7 October – 14 November 2009)Punk Rock 2009 (3–26 September 2009)Spyski /The Importance of Being Ernest (3 October – 1 November 2008)Christmas For the Under 7s (29 November 2007 – 5 January 2008)Beauty and the Beast (6 – 24 November 2007)Casanova (16 October – 3 November 2007)Water (25 September – 13 October 2007)Rough Crossings (5 – 22 September 2007)The Bacchae (2 – 4 August 2007)Accidental Heroes (21 June – 22 July 2007)Angels in America : Part 2 (20 June – 22 July 2007)Angels in America : Part 1 (7 – 9 June 2007)Elegy (26 April – 26 May 2007)Absolute Beginners (3 – 14 April 2007)St George and the Dragon (13 – 31 March 2007)Don't Look Now (9 February – 10 March 2007)Ramayana (17 January – 3 February 2007)Cymbeline (23 November 2006 – 13 January 2007)Watership Down (31 October – 18 November 2006)pool (29 September – 28 October 2006)Metamorphosis (16 May – 17 June 2006)Aurélia'sOratorio (12 – 29 April 2006) The Wolves in the Walls (24 February – 1 April 2006)The Odyssey (20 January – 18 February 2006)Nights at the Circus Christmas (2 December 2005 – 14 January 2006)The Magic Carpet (1 – 26 November 2005)Brontë (19 – 29 October 2005)Road to Nowhere (2 September – 15 October 2005)Julius Caesar (30 June – 23 July 2005)Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (17 June 2005)Asterisk (10 – 13 June 2005)Stars Are Out Tonight (19 April – 7 May 2005)Hymns (30 March – 16 April 2005)Aurelia'sOratorio (5 – 26 March 2005) Rhinoceros (18 February – 26 March 2005)A Raisin in the Sun (27 January – 12 February 2005)Strictly Dandia Christmas for 7+s (26 November 2004 – 22 January 2005)The Firework-Maker's Daughter (2 – 20 November 2004)The Bacchae (30 September – 30 October 2004)Don Juan (14 – 25 September 2004)A Passage to India /National Youth Theatre Guest Season/The Master and Margarita (20 August – 11 September 2004)Aladdin bySandy Wilson , 1979^a b c d e "About the Lyric" > "History" ,Lyric official website. Retrieved January 2024.^ The Era classified ads 13 July 1895 online. Retrieved 27 February 2017 ^ Earl, John."Presidential Address: The Crest of a Wave" ,Frank Matcham Society Magazine , n.d.. Retrieved 19 January 2011. ^ "Capital Development" ,Lyric official website. Retrieved 20 January 2014.^ Surveyors, Royal Institution of Chartered."RICS Awards, London" . rics.org. Archived fromthe original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved15 March 2016 . ^ "Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre - Olivier Awards" . Archived fromthe original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved14 March 2011 .^ Thompson, Jessie (7 September 2018)."Rachel O'Riordan will take over from Sean Holmes at Lyric Hammersmith" .Evening Standard . Retrieved19 September 2025 . ^a b c "About the Lyric: Our Team" ,Lyric official website. Retrieved 26 April 2023.^a b "Lyric website" ,Lyric official website. Retrieved 19 January 2011.^ Taylor, Paul (26 January 2002)."Neil Bartlett – The Independent" . London. Archived fromthe original on 29 November 2010. ^ Christiansen, Rupert (13 November 2002)."Innovator ready for a fight" .The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved28 January 2011 .
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