Lyric Theatre

Lyric Theatre, West End theatre situated on Shaftesbury Avenue, London, operated by Really Useful Theatres. The Lyric’s interior was originally designed by C. J. Phipps, and although renovated in the 1930s, the original Corinthian columns and much of the decorative plasterwork can still be seen. The auditorium seats around 1,000.

The theatre was built for Henry J. Leslie with the proceeds from his production of Dorothy, a comic opera. Dorothy was again presented, as the opening production, in Leslie’s new theatre in 1888. Light opera and operetta were the Lyric’s staple fare well into the 1920s, although straight drama was also produced there: Eleonora Duse performed in a number of productions at the theatre in 1893, including A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, and Sarah Bernhardt performed there in 1898. In more recent years the theatre has housed a mixture of musicals, comedies, and some straight plays. In 1984 Leonard Rossiter, playing in Loot by Joe Orton, suffered a heart attack during a performance at the Lyric, from which he died. Other notable productions have included Five Guys Named Moe (1990), featuring the songs of rhythm and blues artist Louis Jordan; Long Day's Journey into Night (2000), by Eugene O'Neill, starring Jessica Lange; and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2001), by Tennessee Williams.