Theatre
The Lyric Theatre , also known as the Lyric Hammersmith , is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off
King Street ,
Hammersmith , London.
[1]
Background
The Lyric Theatre was originally a music 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 architect
Frank Matcham . The 1895 reopening, as The New Lyric Opera House, was accompanied by an opening address by the famous actress
Lillie 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: the Main House , a 550-seat 19th-century auditorium maintaining the original design which hosts its main productions; and the 120-seat Studio , which houses smaller productions by up-and-coming companies. The Lyric also presents frequent Lyric Children and Lyric Music performances as well as Sunday Night Comedy .
[1]
Its current artistic director is
Rachel O'Riordan , and its executive director is Amy Belson.
[4]
The Lyric has recently gone through a major redevelopment project, with new facilities for young people and the local community completed in 2015, designed by
Rick Mather Architects
[5] and was nominated in the 'community benefit' and 'tourism and leisure' categories at the RICS Awards 2016, London.
[6]
In 2011, the Lyric won the
Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for
Sean Holmes ' production of
Sarah Kane 's
Blasted .
[7]
In September 2018, it was announced that Sean Holmes would be succeeded as artistic director in February 2019 by
Rachel O'Riordan .
[8]
Five strands
The Lyric's programme is divided into five strands:
Main House
Studio
Music & Comedy
Lyric Children
Lyric Young Company
[1]
Production history
(Source: the Lyric official website
[9] )
A Doll's House 2019
Noises Off 2019
Ghost Stories 2019
City of Glass , 2017
The Seagull , 2017
Herons , by
Simon Stephens , 2016
Cinderella , 2015
Tipping The Velvet , 2015
Bugsy Malone , 2015
Secret Theatre , 2015
Secret Theatre , 2014
Secret Theatre , 2013
Steptoe and Son produced by
Kneehigh Theatre , 2013
Metamorphosis by
Franz Kafka , adapted by Gísli Örn Garðarsson and
David Farr , 2013
Alice by Heart by
Steven Sater and
Duncan Sheik , 2012
Father Christmas by
Raymond Briggs , adapted by Pins and Needles Productions, 2012
Cinderella by
Joel Horwood and
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm , 2012
Desire Under the Elms by
Eugene O'Neill , 2012
Morning by
Simon Stephens , 2012
Three Kingdoms by
Simon Stephens , 2012
A Midsummer Night's Dream by
William Shakespeare , 2012
Lovesong by
Abi Morgan , 2012
Aladdin by
Joel Horwood ,
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and
Steve Marmion , 2011
Saved by
Edward Bond , 2011
The Wild Bride created by
Kneehigh Theatre , 2011
Mogadishu by Vivienne Franzmann, 2011
Roald Dahl 's Twisted Tales , 2011
Dick Whittington and his Cat , by
Joel Horwood ,
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and
Steve Marmion , 2010
Blasted by
Sarah Kane , 2010
The Big Fella (21 September – 16 October 2010)
Punk Rock by
Simon Stephens , 2010
Lifegame (7 – 17 July 2010)
Tightrope (17 – 19 June 2010)
A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky (7 May – 5 June 2010)
Spymonkey's Moby 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 2010
Comedians (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's
Oratorio (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's
Oratorio (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 by
Sandy Wilson , 1979
Artistic directors of the Lyric Hammersmith
References
^
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
^ John Earl,
"Presidential Address: The Crest of a Wave" ,
Frank Matcham Society Magazine , n.d.. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
^
a
b
c
"About the Lyric: Our Team" , Lyric official website. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
^
"Capital Development" , Lyric official website. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
^ Surveyors, Royal Institution of Chartered.
"RICS Awards, London" . rics.org. Archived from
the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016 .
^
"Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre - Olivier Awards" . Archived from
the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011 .
^
"Rachel O'Riordan will take over from Sean Holmes at Lyric Hammersmith" . standard.co.uk . 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018 .
^
"Lyric website" , Lyric official website. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
^ Taylor, Paul (26 January 2002).
"Neil Bartlett – The Independent" . London. Archived from
the original on 29 November 2010.
^ Christiansen, Rupert (13 November 2002).
"Innovator ready for a fight" . The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 28 January 2011 .
External links
International National Geographic