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Encyclopedia entry: Lyric Theatre
- Article from:
- The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre
- Author:
Copyright© The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information)
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Lyric Theatre,
Hammersmith, West London, in King Street, opened as the Lyric Hall in 1888. It was reconstructed and reopened as the Lyric Opera House in 1890, rebuilt in 1895, its seating capacity being increased from 550 to 800, and further improved in 1899. The home of a resident
stock company
, it drew a large local audience to its
melodramas
and annual
pantomime
, but its fortunes declined and it housed mainly touring companies until in 1918 it was taken over by Nigel Playfair. He redecorated it, renamed it the Lyric Theatre, and made it prosperous and fashionable, drawing large audiences from the West End. The opening production was A. A. Milne's
Make-Believe
; in 1919
Drinkwater's
...