Lyric Theatre - History
The Lyric Theatre is located on Shaftesbury Avenue in London. To help you in getting there the nearest train station is located at Charing Cross whilst the nearest underground station can be found at Piccadilly Circus.
The Lyric Theatre boasts two different spaces. One is the nineteenth century auditorium with 550 seats and the other is a smaller cousin in the form of a 110 seat studio. Over the years audiences at this venue have been witness to some great works of art, including many comedies, some of which date back to its early history when comic operas became its mainstay. As time has since progressed the theatre has gone on to present many light comedies, musicals, dramas and other comedy shows from some of today’s top comedians.
The theatre itself was originally opened in 1888 when the comic opera Dorothy transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre. It was designed by C J Phipps and presented to Henry J Leslie. It was built where a house dating back to 1766 once stood and to this day the façade on Windmill Street retains some of the features of the eighteenth century building. It goes to show that the site is steeped in history that goes back even further than the theatre itself, meaning a visit to the theatre is given a context that goes beyond the play that is being presented onstage. Such a historical experience has leant to the theatre’s current status as a Grade II listed building under English Heritage.
In terms of productions, the venue has been able to boast some great ones and during the end of the 1800s it put on productions of The Mountebanks by W S Gilbert (1892 – another comic opera), La Dame aux Camellias (1893), The Sign of the Cross by Wilson Barrett (1896), Phèdre (1898), Frou-Frou (1898), Julie (1898), La Tosca (1898) and Floradora (1899). When the twentieth century began it already had a reputation for its great comic productions and the appearances of acclaimed performers such as Eleanora Duse, Marie Tempest and Sarah Bernhardt.
Once Floradora finished at the venue, having crossed the mark between the two centuries, the twentieth century continued with the likes of Mice and Men (1902), Robin Hood (1906) and The Chocolate Soldier (1910). The latter was a George Bernard Shaw play and the first of his to be brought to life with music under Oscar Strauss (adapted from Arms and the Man).
As the twentieth century continued, the list of big names to grace the stage continued. The likes of Vivien Leigh, Keith Michell and Alex Guinness all appeared in front of its audience in 1955, 1958 and 1972 respectively with plays by the likes of Noel Coward, Alan Ayckbourn and Alan Bennett.
By the eighties productions were going very well with even more stars and renowned playwrights gracing venue. Barbara Dickson appeared in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers in 1983’s original production and Judi Dench appeared in Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitmore in the same year. Later, in 1990, John Malkovich made an appearance in Cameron Mackintosh’s edition of Clarke Peters’ Five Guys Named Moe and later in the nineties musicals from the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn landed here (in the form of Jeeves, 1996).
Today, with the iron curtain still operated by water like theatres back in the day, the theatre continues to host great shows with some magnificent talents behind them.
