Lyric Theatre

The Lyric Theatre is Belfast’s primary self-producing theatre. It was originally formed in 1951 as The Lyric Players, by Mary O’Malley with her husband, P Pearse O’Malley, to promote Irish poetic drama, and continues to produce professional drama informed by diverse cultural traditions. They moved into their purpose-built premises on Ridgeway Street in 1968, and again into the current development in 2011. For decades, The Lyric has helped launch numerous internationally acclaimed playwrights, poets and actors, premiering the works of playwrights including Jennifer Johnston, Marie Jones, Christina Reid, and Rosemary Jenkinson, and actresses such as Maggie Cronin, Sheila McGibbon, Roma Tomelty, and Stella McCusker. This online collection represents a synopsis of material from the Lyric Theatre photographs collection at the Linen Hall Library. It contains a selection of images from stage productions from the 1960s-2000s, which feature women including Maggie Cronin, Julia Deardan and Orla Brady. Performances include 'Shadowlands', 'The Importance of being Earnest', 'Great Expectations', '1974: the End of the Year Show', 'Joyriders' by Christina Reid, 'The Factory Girls', 'After Easter' by Anne Devlin, and more.