The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London."About the Lyric"
''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved 9 May 2008.

Background

The Lyric Theatre was originally a music hall established in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, Hammersmith. Success as an entertainment venue led it to be rebuilt and enlarged on the same site twice, firstly in 1890 and then in 1895 by the English theatrical architect

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

. The 1895 reopening, as The New Lyric Opera House, was accompanied by an opening address by the famous actress

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isl ...

. 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.John Earl
"Presidential Address: The Crest of a Wave"
''

Society Magazine'', n.d.. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 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''. Its current artistic director is

Rachel O'Riordan Rachel O'Riordan (born 1974) is an Irish theatre director. She is currently the artistic director at the Lyric Hammersmith, London. Early life and education Born in Cork, Ireland to poet and novelist Robert Anthony Welch and Angela O'Riordan ...

, and its executive director is Sian Alexander."About the Lyric: Our Staff"
''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved 19 January 2011. 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 Rick Mather (May 30, 1937 – April 20, 2013) was an American-born architect working in England. Born in Portland, Oregon and awarded a B.arch. at the University of Oregon in 1961, he came to London in 1963 and worked at the architectural firm L ...

Architects"Capital Development"
''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved 20 January 2014. and was nominated in the 'community benefit' and 'tourism and leisure' categories at the RICS Awards 2016, London. In 2011, the Lyric won the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for Sean Holmes' production of

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological� ...

's ''

Blasted ''Blasted'' is the first play by the British author Sarah Kane. It was first performed in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London. Synopsis The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid ...

''. In September 2018, it was announced that Sean Holmes would be succeeded as artistic director in February 2019 by

Five strands

The Lyric's programme is divided into five strands: *Main House *Studio *Music & Comedy *Lyric Children *Lyric Young Company

Production history

(Source: the ''Lyric'' official website"Lyric website"
''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved 19 January 2011.) * '' A Doll's House'' 2019 * '' Noises Off'' 2019 * '' Ghost Stories'' 2019 * ''City of Glass'', 2017 * ''The Seagull'', 2017 * ''Herons'', by

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

, 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 Kneehigh Theatre was an international touring theatre company founded in 1980 by Mike Shepherd and based in Cornwall, England. The company was based in barns on the southern Cornish coast, at Gorran Haven, but the administration was in Truro. ...

, 2013 * ''

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

'' by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

, adapted by Gísli Örn Garðarsson and David Farr, 2013 * ''

Alice by Heart ''Alice by Heart'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Duncan Sheik, lyrics by Steven Sater, and a book by Sater with Jessie Nelson (filmmaker), Jessie Nelson. The musical is inspired by Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wo ...

'' by

Steven Sater Steven Sater is a Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Laurence Olivier Award-winning American poet, playwright, lyricist, television writer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the book and lyrics for the Tony Award-winning 2006 Broadway musi ...

and

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed ...

, 2012 * ''

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrel ...

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Raymond Briggs Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...

, adapted by Pins and Needles Productions, 2012 * ''Cinderella'' by

Joel Horwood Joel Horwood is a British playwright. He has been a member of the Royal Court/BBC 50 scheme and has also been on attachment at Hampstead Theatre. His plays include ''I Caught Crabs in Walberswick'', ''Mikey the Pikey'', ''Food'', and ''I Hear ...

and

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm The Apathists were a collective of British playwrights who staged plays and happenings in London between March 2006 and March 2007. The events generated a cult following on the London theatre scene. The collective had a festival of their work at ...

, 2012 * ''

Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. ...

'' by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

, 2012 * ''Morning'' by

, 2012 * ''Three Kingdoms'' by

, 2012 * ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

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William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, 2012 * ''Lovesong'' by

Abi Morgan Abigail Louise Morgan (born 1968) is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as ''Sex Traffic'' and '' The Hour'', and the films '' Brick Lane'', '' The Iron Lady'', ''Shame'' and ''Suffragette''. Early li ...

, 2012 * ''Aladdin'' by

and

Steve Marmion Steve Marmion is an English theatre director. He trained at the University of Glamorgan and the Welsh College of Music and Drama. He was the artistic director of the Soho Theatre, having taken over from Lisa Goldman in 2010. He is a former associate ...

, 2011 * '' Saved'' by Edward Bond, 2011 * ''The Wild Bride'' created by

, 2011 * ''

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

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Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

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Tightrope Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

'' (17 – 19 June 2010) * ''

A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky ''A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky'' is a play collaboratively written by David Eldridge, Robert Holman and Simon Stephens. It premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith on 7 May 2010 and ran until 5 June 2010. Summary The end of the world is app ...

'' (7 May – 5 June 2010) * Spymonkey's ''Moby Dick'' (20 April – 1 May 2010) * ''

Ghost Stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

'' (24 February – 3 April 2010) * '' Three Sisters'' (6 January – 20 February 2010) *

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...

(21 November 2009 – 9 January 2010 *

Comedians A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

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Punk Rock 2009 Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

'' (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 ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' (6 – 24 November 2007) * ''

Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

'' (16 October – 3 November 2007) * ''

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

'' (25 September – 13 October 2007) * ''

Rough Crossings ''Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution '' is a history book by Simon Schama. It was the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award winner for general nonfiction. A 2007 drama-documentary television programme was based on ...

'' (5 – 22 September 2007) * ''

The Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...

'' (2 – 4 August 2007) * '' Accidental Heroes'' (21 June – 22 July 2007) * ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for O ...

: Part 2'' (20 June – 22 July 2007) * ''

: Part 1'' (7 – 9 June 2007) * ''

Elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

'' (26 April – 26 May 2007) * '' Absolute Beginners'' (3 – 14 April 2007) * '' St George and the Dragon'' (13 – 31 March 2007) * ''

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'' (9 February – 10 March 2007) * ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

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Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural ...

'' (31 October – 18 November 2006) * ''

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Oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

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'' (27 January – 12 February 2005) * '' Strictly Dandia Christmas'' for 7+s (26 November 2004 – 22 January 2005) * ''

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Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

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Sandy Wilson Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...

, 1979

Artistic directors of the Lyric Hammersmith

References

External links

*
Lyric
' – Official website of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.
Artistic Associates Named
*The collection o
Lyric Theatre Hammersmith box office returns
from 1964 to 1966 is held by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

Theatre and Performance Department.
History of the Lyric, Hammersmith
{{Authority control Theatres in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Producing house theatres in London Theatres completed in 1895 Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Theatres completed in 1979 Hammersmith