Youth Music Theatre UK presents Paperboy at the Lyric Theatre Belfast
Adapted from Tony Macaulay’s internationally acclaimed memoir, Paperboy tells the story of Tony, a 12-year-old boy, growing up against the gritty backdrop of 1970s Belfast. Creative duo, writer-comedian Andrew Doyle and Belfast singer-songwriter Duke Special, have captured in the making of the musical a vivid tapestry of Belfast and Tony’s world - one full of Rock Music, Doctor Who and youthful energy - recreating the vibrancy, comic timing and sense of discovery that is so enjoyed in the memoir. Directors Steven Dexter and Dean Johnson have been working closely with the cast to develop a feel for the era.
Belfast's Lyric Theatre
As the only full-time producing theatre in Northern Ireland, the Lyric makes a unique and vital contribution to the community. Its mission is to produce high-quality professional theatre that is alive to the complex cultural experience and diverse traditions of the community, and to use the unique power of live theatre to empower, inspire, engage and educate. With its continually full programme, there’s always a production worth seeing no matter when you visit. The new theatre with its breathtaking views of the River Lagan and its gourmet café make the venue well worth a visit on its own merits.
Described by the Daily Telegraph’s architecture critic Ellis Woodman as one of the “best British buildings built this century”, the stunning £18m building has won a series of awards for its architecture over the years.
The Lyric Players' Theatre, more commonly known as The Lyric Theatre, or simply The Lyric, is the main full-time producing theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The theatre was first established as the Lyric Players in 1951 at the home of its founders Mary and Pearse O’Malley in Derryvolgie Ave., off the Lisburn Road, and moved to its current site on Ridgeway Street in 1968, between the Stranmillis Road and Stranmillis Embankment. Austin Clarke had laid the foundation stone of the property in 1965.
In 1974 the theatre staged Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar. In 1976 Liam Neeson appeared in Brian Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come!. Neeson's association with the Lyric has continued since, and he is currently the theatre's patron. Several of Friel's plays have been staged at the theatre, including Dancing at Lughnasa in 1996 and 2015. A number of Marie Jones plays have been staged there including A Night in November.
The new theatre opened on 1 May 2011, with a Gala Performance of The Crucible. The new facility features a new main theatre with a seating capacity of almost 400 and a multi-function performance space 'The Naughton Studio' which can seat between 120 and 170.
On 27 June 2012 The Lyric was the site of a meeting between Queen Elizabeth II and Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister for the Northern Ireland Assembly and a former commander of the IRA, including what many believe to be an historic handshake. The event is viewed by many as a positive sign for the ongoing peace process in Northern Ireland.
The Lyric Theatre
lyrictheatre.co.uk
Driving Home for Christmas Read Through
One week of rehearsals done means we're one week closer to Christmas! Check out the #DrivingHomeforChristmas first read through ????
Driving Home for Christmas Trailer 2019
Grimes and McKee are back with another Lyric Christmas special!
Welcome to the Dander Inn, deep in the Sperrins, one of the many claimants to being the highest pub in Ireland. It is Christmas Eve and a once-in-a-century snowstorm rages over the country. Various travellers take refuge in the pub as the road becomes impassable.
All communication with the outside world has been cut off by the storm. It soon becomes clear that they will have to camp out in the pub, until they can be rescued. Nobody wants to be there, but they take solace in the fact that there are worse places to spend the night than a pub, right?
When the Superser runs out of gas they huddle together for heat and getting really, really hangry, they tell stories to remind themselves that it’s Christmas and begin to wonder, are they trapped, or are they prisoners? And will they ever make it out..?
Recommended age: 14+
BLACKØUT Short Film
Blackout by Davey Anderson is a Lyric Theatre touring production, supported by the Department of Justice NI & Hydebank Wood College. Watch our short film.
Bah, Humbug!
With less than 10 days until the first performance, Michael Condron, Roisin Gallagher and Sophie Harkness chat to us about Bah Humbug!
Running 17 Nov 2018 - 05 Jan 2019: bit.ly/BahHumbugLT
The Gruffalo at the Lyric
A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood...
Join Mouse on a daring adventure through the deep, dark wood in Tall Stories’ magical, musical adaptation of the classic picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Songs, laughs and scary fun for children aged 3 and up and their grown-ups, in the much-loved show that’s toured Britain and the world!
At the Lyric 2 - 6 August. Book now: bit.ly/lyrgruf
Van Morrison Belfast Lyric Theatre 05/01/2020
Sweeney Todd - Give us your best Cockney Accent
♪ There's No place like London... ♪
Sweeney Todd running at the Lyric 2-23 Feb: bit.ly/Sweeney_Todd_
A Streetcar Named Desire - Rehearsals
We caught up with the amazing cast of #AStreetcarNamedDesire during rehearsals!
More info:
A Streetcar Named Desire
We asked the cast of #AStreetcarNamedDesire what they thought of the play the very first time they read it.
Find out more:
The United Kingdom and Europe: Nations on the World Stage | Sir Nicholas Serota | RSA Replay
As a partnership of leading theatres in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales embarks on an epic cycle of new play commissions which will explore Britain’s changing relationship with Europe, this panel discussion asks How should theatre respond to and reflect the changing role of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Europe over the next decade?” Working in collaboration, Royal & Derngate Northampton, Lyric Theatre Belfast, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Sherman Theatre Cardiff will bring together a diverse group of emerging and established artists, thinkers and practitioners from across Europe, with the aim of creating a body of original theatrical productions that offer a unique insight into our nation’s past and present while imagining the possibilities for its future.
Speakers: Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England; Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage; April De Angelis, Writer; Roy Williams OBE, Dramatist; Tanika Gupta MBE
Playwright; James Graham, Playwright; Brad Birch, Playwright; Rosemary Jenkinson, artist-in-residence, Lyric Theatre, Belfast
Chair: Mark Lawson, Journalist and Broadcaster
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Good Vibrations
Here's a little more behind the scenes of #GoodVibrations.
Running until 6 Oct, visit our website to find out more: bit.ly/GoodVibrationsLT
RIBA Stirling Prize 2012 shortlist - Lyric Theatre Belfast
Double cross - About the Show
Here's the cast of #DoubleCross telling us what it's all about.
10 - 27 Oct, find out more here: bit.ly/DoubleCross-LT
Lyric theatre, Belfast Married architects get top award
Lyric theatre, Belfast Married architects get top award
Lyric theatre, Belfast Married architects get top award
The Queen views portraits by Colin Davidson at the Lyric Theatre Belfast
Queen Elizabeth's visit to Belfast's Lyric Theatre, where she met and shook hands with political figures including Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness. During her tour of the recently opened theatre, the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, also met the Irish President, Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina. This footage shows Mark Carruthers introducing Queen to Colin Davidson (artist), Michael Longley (poet) and Barry Douglas (pianist).
The Playboy of the Western World - Pegeen
Pegeen is fed up. Desperate to escape the confines of a life stuck in the middle of nowhere. When a stranger arrives with a story that sets the village talking, he is welcomed with admiration by the locals, even Pegeen. But all is not as it seems in #ThePlayboy of the Western World.
???? | 08 Oct - 02 Nov
????️ | bit.ly/PlayboyWesternWorld
This is Punk Rock.
Punk Rock is an intense and powerful piece of theatre, by Simon Stephens, who has been described as the most prolific British Playwright of his generation.
Find out more about this production which explodes on to the stage at the Lyric this summer: