As the Lyric Theatre’s Ridgeway Street site prepares for demolition, the Lyric Lives Heritage Project – with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund – will focus on archiving the history of the Lyric. From its inception as The Lyric Players amateur company in 1951 in the O’Malley’s Derryvolgie Avenue private studio to the professional Lyric Theatre’s own building in 1968, the history of the Lyric Theatre is rich with memories, artefacts, and milestones in Northern Ireland’s cultural landscape.

In addition to organising a comprehensive collection of the Lyric Theatre’s storied history, the Lyric Lives Heritage Project is devoted to amassing an ambitious Oral History Archive. Through interviews with the key players – past and present – in the theatre’s history (actors, theatre practitioners, writers, directors), the Lyric Lives Heritage Project will also be collecting stories from the company’s most treasured asset: it’s audiences. Both young and old, participants and observers, are invited to share their memories of the Lyric Theatre. There are a number of ways to share your Lyric Theatre stories – from online written memories via this website to a state-of-the-art video recording kiosk available to the public at the Old Northern Bank from Saturday, 26th April – Saturday, 17th May 2008. All oral histories will be lodged with The Linen Hall Library for future generations to study and enjoy.

Also, watch for a series of future exhibits charting the Lyric’s history. Look Up In the Sun’s Eye: the Bricks and Mortar of Vision – Saturday, 26th April to Saturday, 17th May – is a comprehensive look at the theatre’s evolution through its buildings – from the Derryvolgie studio to the new build of the Ridgeway Street theatre which is scheduled to open in 2010. The exhibit will be at the Old Northern Bank, Waring Street, Belfast.

To supplement the exhibit, there will be a series of workshops focusing on the history of the Lyric Theatre. A free workshop is open to the general public on Tuesday, 13th May at 6.00pm at the Old Northern Bank. Email Kris@lyrictheatre.co.uk for booking information.

A late summer exhibit will also be curated by the Lyric Lives Heritage Project. Details will be available soon.

In the meantime, read through our Upcoming Events, News items, and sift through our Banked Memories section to see what others are sharing about the Lyric Theatre.