Belfast’s Lyric theatre is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a diverse programme that revives classic works and showcases new talent. Artistic director Jimmy Fay describes the theatre as a beacon that gives voice to everyone in Northern Ireland.
Reviving a Classic
One of the highlights of the 2026 programme is Christina Reid’s Tea in a China Cup, originally written in 1983. Directed by Dan Gordon, who performed in the original production, the play features Marie Jones and runs in May. It traces the daily lives of Protestant working-class women in Belfast across three decades, from World War II to the Troubles, blending humour and poignancy. Fay notes that Reid’s work articulates the idea that working-class people across the sectarian divide had more in common than often assumed, aligning with the socialist vision of founder Mary O’Malley.
Founding Vision
Mary O’Malley moved from Dublin to Belfast in 1947 and founded the Belfast Lyric Players theatre in 1951. She established not only the theatre but also an art gallery, music academy, and drama school. An anniversary exhibition, A House of Play, curated by Kim Mawhinney, features works by artists associated with the New Gallery, which O’Malley opened in 1963. The exhibition includes paintings by Jack B Yeats, Louis Le Brocquy, and Basil Blackshaw, as well as new commissions from Colin Davidson and Neil Shawcross.
Literary Legacy
An upstairs gallery is dedicated to the cover designs, correspondence, and manuscripts from Threshold, the influential literary journal founded by O’Malley, which ran from 1957 to 1990. Initially edited by O’Malley herself, the journal later had rotating guest editors such as Seamus Heaney, John Montague, and Seamus Deane, publishing fiction, reviews, play scripts, and poetry. Fay is currently editing an anniversary issue of Threshold, to be published in August, with plans to revive it as an annual journal of arts criticism and essays.
European Influence
The New Gallery’s first curator, Alice Berger Hammerschlag, an Austrian artist, created many of the theatre’s set designs. Along with Czech choreographer Helen Lewis, she brought a European influence to early Lyric productions. Initially staged in O’Malley’s home, the theatre moved to a 50-seat studio above her stables in 1951, producing over 100 plays on a 10-foot wide stage. In 1968, the company relocated to a 300-seat theatre on Ridgeway Street, remaining open during the Troubles often with tiny audiences. After an £18m fundraising campaign supported by patron Liam Neeson, the Lyric’s new home, designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey, opened in 2011, overlooking the River Lagan.
Recent Successes
Fay, who moved from Dublin 12 years ago, combines the roles of CEO, executive producer, and artistic director. He highlights Agreement, Owen McCafferty’s dramatisation of the Good Friday agreement negotiations, as a recent success. He hopes the play will have a further life at the Edinburgh fringe and in London, calling it an important work about the peace process and a study of misogyny in politics.
Upcoming Productions
Later in the year, the Lyric will stage a new production of Brian Friel’s Faith Healer starring Conleth Hill, directed by Emma Jordan, and a version of Aristophanes’ The Frogs by Paul Muldoon with music by US composer Stew. This “music-theatre pub gig” will premiere at New York’s Public Theatre. Further ahead, there will be a new play by Clare Dwyer Hogg, a version of Crime and Punishment by McCafferty, and an adaptation by Oisín Kearney of the epic Irish language poem The Táin.
Supporting Adventurous Artists
Fay emphasises the importance of supporting artists like Conor Mitchell, whose works Abomination: A DUP Opera and Propaganda are central to the Lyric’s mission. The theatre’s drama studio also trains young actors who transition to television and film. Despite a difficult funding environment, Fay notes the abundance of talent, energy, and vitality in Northern Ireland.
Tea in a China Cup runs at the Lyric theatre, Belfast, from 2 to 30 May.
