The theatre
The Lyric seats 915 over four levels behind a narrow Shaftesbury Avenue frontage. The original Victorian interior largely survives, and the upper levels are steep in the way theatres of the period usually are. Programming moves between plays, musicals and comedy rather than settling on one.
History
The producer Henry Leslie built it with the profits from his light opera hit Dorothy, and transferred that show from its original house to open the new theatre on 17 December 1888. Shaftesbury Avenue was still being laid out at the time, which is how the Lyric came to be the oldest theatre on what is now the densest theatre street in London.
Good to know
Piccadilly Circus is a couple of minutes away, Leicester Square about five. The stalls and dress circle are the comfortable seats; the upper circle is cheap for a reason.
