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Lyric Theatre
Théâtre à l'italienne
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the
City of Westminster.
Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by
producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit,
Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open his new venue on 17
December 1888.
The Lyric Theatre was the second theatre to
be constructed on this stretch of Shaftesbury Avenue and now the Lyric
Theatre is the oldest on the street.
The foyer and bars were
refurbished in 1932-33, and the facade was restored in 1994. At present it seats 967 on
four levels, although it originally was designed with a seating capacity of 1,306. The
theatre still uses an electric pump to operate its iron curtain.
Early in the
Lyric theatre's history, it staged mostly comic operas, and later it has
been a home to light comedies, musicals and straight dramas.
The Lyric
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
