Lyric Theatre, London

The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.

Designed by the architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by the producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy (he made £100,000 from this opera), which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open his new venue on 17 December 1888. It was the second theatre to be constructed on this stretch of Shaftesbury Avenue and is now the oldest in the street. The foyer and bars were refurbished in 1932–33, and the facade was restored in 1994. At present it seats 915 on four levels, although originally it was designed with a seating capacity of 1,306.

Early in the theatre's history, it staged mostly comic operas, and later it has been a home to light comedies, musicals and straight dramas.

The theatre retains many of its original features (including being built behind an original 1767 house front, at the rear to Great Windmill Street, the former house and museum of Sir William Hunter) and the theatre was Grade II listed by English Heritage in September 1960.

The Lyric Theatre still uses water to operate its iron curtain. Water was originally pumped from the river Thames to West End theatres and hotels and used to hydraulically operate heavy machinery like lifts. Hydraulic pressure is now provided by electric pump, but it can also be operated manually by two people.

The Lyric Theatre has been owned by Nimax Theatres since 2005 when Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer purchased it from the Really Useful Group (establishing the new Nimax group with the Apollo Theatre, Garrick Theatre and Duchess Theatre).

Notable productions

  • 1888: Dorothy (transferred to the theatre in 1888, opening elsewhere in 1887)
  • 1889: Doris and The Red Hussar
  • 1892: The Mountebanks
  • 1894: His Excellency
  • 1896: The Sign of the Cross
  • 1899: Florodora
  • 1903: The Duchess of Dantzic
  • 1910: The Chocolate Soldier
  • 1911: The Girl in the Taxi
  • 1919: The Bird of Paradise, which starred Henry Daniell as Hoheno
  • 1922: Whirled into Happiness
  • 1922: Lilac Time
  • 1924: The Street Singer
  • 1926: The Gold Diggers starred Tallulah Bankhead
  • 1931: Strange Interlude
  • 1934: The Royal Family, by George S. Kaufman, directed by Noël Coward, with Madge Titheradge, Marie Tempest and Laurence Olivier
  • 1935: Tovarich
  • 1946: The Winslow Boy
  • 1950: The Little Hut – ran for 1,261 performances
  • 1950: Vortex
  • 1955: South Sea Bubble
  • 1958: Irma La Douce
  • 1964: Robert and Elizabeth
  • 1969: Plaza Suite
  • 1972: How the Other Half Loves – ran for 869 performances
  • 1981: '; Arms and the Man
  • 1983: Blood Brothers; Pack of Lies
  • 1984: Loot
  • 1989: Steel Magnolias
  • 1990: Five Guys Named Moe
  • 1995: Ain't Misbehavin'
  • 1998: An Ideal Husband
  • 2000: Brief Encounter
  • 2001: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • 2002: The Constant Wife
  • 2004: Beautiful and Damned
  • 2005: Death of a Salesman
  • 2006: The Night of the Iguana, Smaller, Grumpy Old Women and Cabaret
  • 2008: Hairspray: The School Musical and Flamenco Flamen'ka
  • 2008: Eddie Izzard (Stripped)
  • 2009: Thriller – Live starring Denise Pearson, A Frisky and Mannish Christmas

References

  • Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950, John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 124–5 (Theatres Trust, 2000) ISBN 
  • Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477–478.

External links

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Ezryn Zarof
7 November 2017
It's a small and comfortable theatre. I've been to other theatres with little legroom, but we sat in the last row of the dress circle and it was the best place for dancing.
Craig Duncan
11 March 2013
Lovely little theatre. If booking row A is three front the front. Seats 5 and 6 dead centre. Take your own glow sticks.
Gagan Singh
5 August 2015
Great shows for kids. The seating is nice and good views of stage.
M ALDossary  ♏
7 July 2022
I loved this theater, I was in row P and I can see the whole stage clearly. Nice theater
Haksta
2 June 2017
Mutlaka tecrübe edilmesi gereken bir aktivite. Sahne kostumler ekip gayet titizlikle hazırlanmış bir showdu.
Patrick Hollenfeltz
31 December 2015
Fabuleux spectacle et endroit magique
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Vadikus, Vadim I and 11,485 more people have been here
Map
29 Shaftesbury Ave, Soho, London W1D 7ES, UK Get directions
Fri 6:00 PM–9:00 PM
Sat 11:00 AM–Noon
Sun 9:00 AM–Noon
Mon-Wed 6:00 PM–9:00 PM

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