Lyric50 Celebration Evening

“I dedicate to speech, to pomp and show,
This Playhouse re-erected for the players,
I set my saw and chisel in the wood
To joint and panel solid metaphors:
The walls a circle, the stage under a hood –
Here all the world’s an act, a word, an echo.”

- From Peter Street at Bankside by Seamus Heaney

The Lyric invites you to a special one-off evening celebrating the theatre’s rich literary legacy.

Over the past 50 years the Lyric has made an indelible impression on the culture of Northern Ireland and beyond. By supporting a wealth of local literary talent, the Lyric has made a significant contribution to the worlds of theatre and poetry. The Lyric has an impressive history of commissioning and premiering new work by local writers such as Stewart Parker, Marie Jones, Owen McCafferty, Christina Reid, David Ireland, and Rosemary Jenkinson – to name but a few. The theatre has also supported once-fledging writers such as Seamus Heaney, Michael Longley, Derek Mahon and Medbh McGuckian through its renowned literary journal Threshold, edited by the great John Hewitt.

Featuring extracts from now canonical plays premiered at the Lyric and poetry published in Threshold, performed by a troupe of local actors joined by special guests, please join us as we continue to celebrate the Lyric’s 50th birthday on Ridgeway Street.