THE Lyric Hammersmith has announced its new season, which runs from May 2017 to January 2018 and includes three major new productions: a UK premiere, a new adaptation of a classic and the return of the now traditional Lyric pantomime.
In June, the Lyric will present the UK Premiere of Ferdinand von Schirach’s Terror in a translation by David Tushingham. A gripping and timely play, it has been stirring debate around the globe. The audience are at the centre of this courtroom drama, voting to decide the verdict at each performance.
In the autumn, Lesley Sharp takes to the Lyric stage playing Irina Arkadina in a vibrant new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull by Lyric Associate Artist Simon Stephens.
The festive season will see the return of the Lyric pantomime with a brand new production of Jack and the Beanstalk.
In May, Amici, the Lyric’s resident dance theatre company which integrates able-bodied and disabled performers, will reprise two past productions Tightrope and 35 Amici Drive, playing in repertory for the first time as a company.
35 Amici Drive will be performed on Tuesday, May 23 and Wednesday, May 24.
Sound the trumpet, Bang the drum, We’re not moving, Let them come!
In Amici’s 35th anniversary show, first staged in 2015, the residents of 35 Amici Drive are under threat of eviction from their homes. Will they overcome in their struggle to stay or will they face the wrecking ball?
Tightrope will be performed on Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27.
Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls the circus is about to begin.
Tightrope, Amici’s 30th anniversary show, is a touching story of an old circus company who have stuck together, struggling against the odds to survive, but will this be their final performance?
Terror runs from Wednesday, June 14 to Saturday, July 15.
Guilty. Not Guilty. You Decide. Enter the courtroom. Hear the evidence. Make your judgement.
A hijacked plane is heading towards a packed football stadium. Ignoring orders to the contrary a fighter pilot shoots the plane down killing 164 people to save 70,000. Put on trial and charged with murder, the fate of the pilot is in the audience’s hands.
The production is directed by the Lyric’s Artistic Director, Sean Holmes and designed by Olivier Award-winner Anna Fleischle, with costume design by Loren Elstein, lighting by Joshua Carr and sound by Nick Manning. Casting will be announced in due course.
Simon Stephens’ new adaptation of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov runs from Tuesday, October 3 to Saturday, November 4.
Switching effortlessly between the ridiculous and the profound The Seagull forensically examines the transcendence and destructiveness of love. The burning need to create Art and how harshly that need can be crushed permeates this classic play.
Lesley Sharp’s extensive career has seen her work across television, film and theatre. Her film credits include Slapper and Me, Inkheart, Vera Drake, Cheeky, From Hell, The Full Monty, BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Naked, Priest, Close My Eyes, The Rachel Papers, Rita, Sue and Bob Too and The Love Child.
Her television work includes Three Girls, Scott & Bailey, Capital, Starlings, The Shadow Line, Whistle and I’ll Come To You, Cranford, Poirot, Moving On, The Diary of Anne Frank, Dr. Who, Afterlife, RTS Television Award for Best Actress, Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, Planespotting, The Survivors, Carla, Carrie’s War, Bob and Rose, Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actress, BAFTA nomination for Best Actress, Clocking Off, Great Expectations, Playing The Field and Common as Muck.
Her work in theatre includes A Taste of Honey, Harper Regan, Mother Courage and her Children and Uncle Vanya for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress (National Theatre), Ingredient X and Our Country’s Good (Royal Court Theatre), Ghosts and Little Voice (West End), God Of Hell and A Family Affair for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Comedy Performance (Donmar Warehouse), Top Girls (Royal Court Theatre/Tour), Playing With Trains and Mary and Lizzie (RSC) and Summerfolk (Chichester Festival Theatre).
The Seagull will be directed by Sean Holmes and designed by Hyemi Shin, with lighting by Anna Watson and sound by Pete Malkin. Further casting to be announced.
Jack and the Beanstalk by Joel Horwood, co-directed by Jude Christian and Sean Holmes, runs from Saturday, November 18, 2017 to Saturday, January 6, 2018.
Join us as Jack and the Beanstalk gets the full Lyric treatment with anarchic humour, talking animals, songs for all ages, magic, sweets and snow.
Meanwhile, Paul Auster’s City of Glass, directed by Leo Warner and adapted by Duncan Macmillan, has extended its run until May 20, 2017. Read more.
For more information or to book tickets, call the box office on 020 8741 6850 or visit lyric.co.uk/.