About the Lyric Hammersmith
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The Lyric is a producing theatre: it makes most of its own shows, often with other theatres, rather than renting the stage to touring productions. It has been in Hammersmith for over 130 years, and its artistic director is Rachel O'Riordan.
Why is the auditorium two floors up?
The Lyric began as a music hall on Bradmore Grove in 1888, and in 1895 Frank Matcham rebuilt it as the New Lyric Opera House, opened with a speech by Lillie Langtry. In 1966 it was due to be demolished. A campaign saved the auditorium, which was taken apart, stored and put back together, piece by piece, inside a new building a short walk away. It reopened there in 1979, which is why you go up two floors from Lyric Square to reach a Victorian theatre.
The Lyric today
A new wing, the Reuben Foundation Wing, opened in 2015 with studios and rehearsal spaces for young people, and the auditorium was refurbished in 2018. In 2011 the Lyric won an Olivier Award for its production of Sarah Kane's Blasted.
Notable past productions
The Lyric's panto is a Hammersmith Christmas tradition: Cinderella in 2023, Aladdin in 2024, Jack and the Beanstalk in 2025, and Cinderella again for Christmas 2026.
- The Children (2026)
- Relics (2026)
- An Ideal Husband (2026)
- Jaja's African Hair Braiding (2026), returning in 2027
- Lost Atoms (2026)
- Sing Street (2025)
- Marriage Material (2025)
- Dracula (2025)
Other theatres of a similar size
- Capital Theatre, at Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush
- Criterion Theatre, on Piccadilly Circus
- St Martin's Theatre, on West Street, home of The Mousetrap