Lyric Hammersmith, Hammersmith, London

The Lyric has always been one of my favourite theatres, and has gained further appeal when it was mordernised a few years ago. The entrance is now on the main square rather than next door to the depressing shopping mall it is part of. The bar/cafe on the first floor is a nice place to meet friends. Not so keen on the cafe on ground floor level.
More importantly, the programme can compete with those of West End theatres, while the prices are much more reasonable. Most shows are available for just £9 if you book fast enough.
Plays are not limited to the main theatre or the smaller studio and also include unusual site specific performances in the surrounding area.
I’m lucky to live nearby, but it the Lyric is definitely worth travelling to Hammersmith to. Transport is excellent with the Piccadilly, District and Hammersmith & City Lines all within a couple of minutes’ walk from the theatre, as well as a major bus station.

I was lucky to get a pair of tickets to see Othello here in November. It’s a sold out run and there’s a good reason for it. The Lyric had used its good sound system and deep stage to the best effect. Most of the action took place in a Mancunian pub, which was created at the front of the stage. Street fights, such as Iago’s knifing of Rodrigo took place towards the back of the stage. The action was moved from renaissance Venice to a 21st century council estate in Manchester. I’ve always thought that the Lyric is one of the few London theatres to understand that the punters like enough space to meet and chat before a performance. The food and the bar are both good.

The Lyric is a fabulous little theatre, which always shows interesting productions. It’s very handy for people who live or work nearby to have a decent place in the area. As an off-west end place, it leans towards smaller shows, by lesser known playwrights, but it’s all the better for it. We recently sawOthello , which was absolutely outstanding and lively. The best bit is that the seats are about half the price of its big West End sister theatres; you can get top price stalls seats for just £25. It’s also worth checking out the previews, which are often even cheaper.

This is a wonderful little theatre which shows a wide variety of plays, both modern and more traditional. Tickets are usually at a reasonable price making shows accesible to a wider audience. The theatre is pretty small but this makes shows more intimate and personal.

There is a nice cafe/bar on the middle floor, grat for a pre-show or interval drink.

My only criticism would be the result of a recent play I saw where a fight broke out in the upper circle. The commotion went on for at least 10 minutes before escalating to a full on shouting match. It was very disruptive for the audience and the young cast and I felt more could have been done quicker to bring the situation under control. The play had to be stopped and restarted which meant the audience lost some focus and the play never quite recovered its momentum again.

The Lyric has a lot going for it, not least their children shows on Saturdays and young people department which is under their creative learning umbrella. This energy seeps into their main house work and the audience, unlike many London theatres, is a young and vibrant one. The work they choose to show are fresh, dynamic and often challenges the norms of what theatre should be represented as. A great example would be their staging of Tony Kushner’s 'Angels in America’ which was a scenographic feast.

Although a bit bland and boxy from the outside, the inside of the Lyric Theatre is really contemporary and has a constant buzz. With a diverse range of shows they strike a nice balance between more conventional theatre and innovative work. I particularly enjoyed the site specific work they did where you sat out on the terrace with headphones on and a pair of binoculars and watched the performance take place in various windows on the other side of the square. Very clever.

The food is good in their cafe too, not so cheap but theatre food never is.

Life is a cabaret – and when watching this performance live you feel part of the production and the life it represents. Full of energy and using original tricks to include the writer’s kookiness, the Cabaret musical is fantastic!

The production has a number of challenging songs, that one may not know but still have reason to tap a foot to. If you do know the film, you will not be disappointed – and although it may not be Lisa Minnelli on stage, the cast are very talented and put on a sterling performance.

The set has been crated excellently – allowing for the easy fast changes needed for this production. It also embodies the oddness that is typical of this musical and what makes it a success.

This musical will make you walk out wanting to take over the world – even though you’ve seen the underbelly of it.

This is a quite a nice little theatre to go and watch something like Cabaret. The play set in pre-war Berlin is about free-spirited Sally Bowles a singer in a Cabaret Spot called the The Kit Kat Club who is and out of trouble as tension mounts in East Berlin. I think Liza Minelli was good when she did the film but the more realistic version is much better.

The Lyric Hammersmith is a wonderful theatre. Perched on Lyric Square, it’s a real pleasure to go to see something here. A mixture of traditional and modern is the architectural style within and without the theatre. Inside, the auditorium is plush, dripping with chandeliers and clad with velvet curtains over its three tiers. The bars and cafes are modern with clean lines and sharp angles.
The theatre features the main auditorium and studio space so it has a big programme of events including brilliant children’s theatre and large scale stand up nights. The production value of the shows I’ve seen has always been very high but the quality of the shows themselves I’ve often hated or loved. ‘Nights at the Circus’ was excellent, as was Mark Ravenhill’s ‘Pool No Water’ but some of the in house productions have been really disappointing.

As a resident of the borough I am able to see every show for free on the first night, which I think is a brilliant scheme to ensure locals are involved in the theatre, which I find generally creates a sense of pride in the community and the work being produced. Additionally, as the Lyric is not a West End theatre the prices are very reasonable with excellent concessions (like £6 tickets for under 25s).