The New Lyric Theatre

As I mentioned in the last post, the rebuilt Lyric Theatre opened this weekend with a production of Arthur MIller's The Crucible. Brian Friel spoke on Sunday night at the opening of the Northern Bank stage, saying that “I pray that Belfast, which must be rightly proud of what has been accomplished here, may reap the rewards of sustaining this theatre and that its excellence and excitement find echoes in the daily lives of Belfast people.”

Lyric alumni such as Ciaran Hinds, Adrian Dunbar and Conleth Hill attended the inaugural performance, which was directed by Conall Morrison. The new Lyric has two auditoria, rehearsal space, dressing rooms and social areas - a marked improvement on the old building which was showing its age and was inhibiting the theatre's expansion and ambitions.

Well done to all involved on this momentous occasion!

Sarah Poutch

First Night at the Lyric Theatre - 1968

The new Lyric Theatre opens in a couple of weeks (1 May). No doubt the opening night will be a fantastic experience, and a celebration of those who worked so hard to raise the funds to rebuild the theatre. This echoes the victorious opening night in 1968, when the Lyric’s first purpose built theatre opened. It’s difficult to imagine how Mary O’Malley, founder of the theatre, must have felt. What had been a labour of love for almost twenty years had finally come to fruition, and for the first time Lyric productions would be based outside of the O’Malley family home. To get an idea of the excitement of that time, here is a slideshow of some images from that night.

Sarah Poutch

The 'New' Theatre at Ridgeway Street

The opening of the new Lyric Theatre in Belfast is just weeks away, built on the site of the demolished old theatre on Ridgeway Street. With that in mind, here is a slideshow of images of the old theatre when it was freshly constructed in 1968, and a couple of photographs of its construction.

Sarah Poutch

Lyric Production Photographs: 1960s

This week the series of slideshows continues, with some production photographs from the 1960s. As always, we welcome your feedback. Enjoy!

Sarah Poutch

Images of Early Lyric Theatre Productions

This week I've created a slideshow of images from early Lyric Theatre productions. These are from colour slides which have been stored in a Kodak box for over forty years. The earliest images are from productions at Derryvolgie Avenue, the venue within the O'Malley family home (1951, 1964). As production needs expanded the theatre experimented with staging productions externally at the King George VI Theatre, also in Belfast. Two of these productions are represented here (1962-3). The remaining images are from the first productions at the purpose built theatre on Ridgeway Street, a selection of plays by W.B. Yeats (1968).

Also of interest in NUI Galway Archives this week is an incredible online exhibition on Arthur Shields and family created by our digital archivist, Fergus Fahey, with assistance from Dubheasa and with an introduction written by Adrian Frazier.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow and as usual, please feel free to contact the archives staff with any research queries you might have.

Sarah Poutch

The New Lyric Theatre - Opening May 2011

Building began on a new building for the Lyric Theatre in late 2009. The previous building, built in 1968, had long been unfit for the purposes of the ambitious company. Its construction is the result of some incredible fundraising work, by many people, over eight years. The development team hold the distinction of having secured the largest ever philanthropic gift made to an arts venue from Ireland. This incredibly generous donation of £1,000,000 was given by Martin and Carmel Naughton.

This new home for the Lyric is gaining more interest from the media as it approaches completion. An extensive piece appeared in the Irish Times this weekend, and this interest will only increase as the new theatre opens and its productions begin.

At such a momentous time for the Lyric, it is illuminating to look back through the archives here in NUI Galway and see the roots of this now flourishing institution. Here on the right you can see plans made by architect Neil Downes in 1957 for an extension which was built at the rear of the O'Malley residence on Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast. The purpose of the extension was to provide a new entrance to the small auditorium (up until that point, audience members had to pass through the O'Malleys' home), to create some backstage facilities and a foyer. The extension was completed in September 1957 and it heralded the burgeoning recognition of the Lyric as a serious and potentially professional theatrical company.

Neil Downes went on to become instrumental in the design for the first purpose-built home for the Lyric, which was on the same site in Ridgeway Street as the new theatre. We will take a closer look at that project, driven of course by Mary and Pearse O'Malley, in a future blog post. Below is a video in which architect John Tuomey outlines his concept and vision for the new Lyric Theatre building.                        

Sarah Poutch

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

‘Threshold’ Contributors: Seamus Heaney

The Lyric’s literary periodical Threshold sought to encourage submissions from local writers, and there is no more celebrated a Northern Irish writer than Seamus Heaney. Heaney contributed several poems to Threshold, and indeed went on to become editor of the magazine for a short term in the late 1960s.

After reading English Language and Literature at Queen’s University, Belfast, Heaney trained as a teacher at St Joseph’s Teacher Training College and went on to work at St Thomas’ Secondary School in west Belfast. Having begun writing poetry while an undergraduate, Heaney now found a mentor in the headmaster of the school, the Monaghan writer Michael McLaverty. McLaverty proved to be a strong influence on Heaney, encouraging his writing and even becoming a foster father of sorts. With his support, Heaney began publishing his poetry in 1962 and continued to do so over the following decades with huge success.

Copy of Peter Street at Bankside, Lyric Archives, NUI Galway

His involvement with Threshold came about as Mary O'Malley sought to cultivate working relationships with Northern Irish writers, to encourage submissions both for the periodical and for the Lyric Theatre. As her time was increasingly demanded from the Lyric Players, guest editors were brought in  to oversee Threshold. These included people such as Roger McHugh, Brian Friel, and as mentioned earlier, Heaney himself. Heaney was also present at the foundation stone laying ceremony in 1965 when the company built their own theatre at Ridgeway Street, and recited a poem written especially for the occasion, Peter Street at Bankside.

Forty four years later, Heaney was again present at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Lyric Theatre home at the same site. A stanza from Peter Street at Bankside is engraved, fittingly, in the threshold stone which will mark the entrance of the new theatre, which is due to open next year.

Lyric Archives, NUI Galway

Heaney maintained his connection with the team behind Threshold, writing to thank Mary and Pearse O’Malley for their congratulations after his ‘Swedish bounty’ in 1995. His continued involvement with the Lyric Theatre is testament to Mary O'Malley's early recognition of his work, and to the inextricably intertwined relationship between author and audience.

Sarah Poutch

Mary O’Malley and the Origins of the Lyric Players Theatre

No discussion of the Lyric Players Theatre would be complete without mentioning Mary O’Malley, founder of the theatre and self-taught director of hundreds of plays. Mary was a devotee of W.B. Yeats, and modelled the Lyric on Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. She guided the Lyric through the early years of productions staged in her own home right through to its move to a purpose-built theatre on the banks of the River Lagan, on Ridgeway Street in Belfast.

Born in 1918 in Mallow, county Cork, the then Mary Hickey developed an early love of theatre after seeing a production of Dion Boucicault’s The Colleen Bawn at the age of six. Her brother Gerald, himself a successful set designer, brought her to the Abbey when she was thirteen, pointing out to her the famous playwrights Yeats and Lady Gregory. She remained fascinated with Yeats’ plays, staging all of them throughout the Lyric’s early years.

Image via www.archiseek.com

After completing her education at Loreto Convent, Mary moved to Dublin with her mother. She immersed herself in Dublin’s theatrical scene, becoming a member of the New Theatre Group and the Irish Film Society, amongst others. These were exciting times in Dublin: the Second World War had driven many intellectuals and artists to Dublin from the continent, making for a vibrant cultural atmosphere in the city. It was at this time also that Mary’s political conscience began to assert itself, which will be explored in a future post.

Dr Pearse O'Malley

Mary met her future husband Pearse O’Malley, a neurologist, in Dublin and they married in September 1947. The marriage meant a move north, as Pearse was involved in the planning of a new Department of Neurology and Psychiatry in the Mater Hospital, Belfast. Northern Ireland’s capital was found lacking, culturally speaking, when compared to the O’Malleys’ experiences in Dublin. Mary however soon created an outlet for herself; the beginnings of the Lyric Players Theatre will be detailed in a forthcoming post.

Sarah Poutch

The Lyric Theatre Archives

Mary and Pearse O'Malley

The Lyric Players began in 1951, when Mary O’Malley organised a performance of Robert Farren’s Lost Light in her husband Dr Pearse O’Malley’s consulting room, located in their home on the Lisburn Road, Belfast. What started life as an amateur theatrical group which performed for invited audiences flourished, and eventually became Northern Ireland’s most consistent and established professional theatre company. It is unique in being the only theatre in Belfast to remain open throughout the Troubles, a testament to the commitment of those involved in its operation.

  

 A purpose-built Lyric Theatre was opened on Ridgeway Street in 1968, the foundation stone having been laid by Austin Clarke in 1965. Over the years the Lyric has staged myriad productions, ranging from the classics to newly commissioned plays, as well as focussing on the work of Irish playwrights. The Lyric has premiered works by writers such as John Boyd, Anne Devlin, Patrick Galvin, Robin Glendinning, Jennifer Johnston, Martin Lynch, Gary Mitchell, Stewart Parker, Christina Reid and Graham Reid. It has also nurtured local acting talent, with many famous local faces having been associated with the Lyric over its fifty years’ history. These include the theatre’s patron Liam Neeson, playwright Marie Jones, and stage and television actors Adrian Dunbar, Ian McElhinney, Jimmy Ellis, and Dan Gordon.

These archives encompass the Lyric’s early years through to more recent times. They include material such as scripts, programmes, photographs and audio recordings of productions. In addition to this there is also a considerable amount of administrative material, including correspondence. The O’Malley family, the original founders of the company, are well represented with Mary and Pearse O’Malley’s correspondence and personal papers also being an integral part of the archives. There are over one hundred boxes of material, which will be catalogued over the next fifteen months.

Sarah Poutch