A famous face will be amongst Belfast locals celebrating the first anniversary of the rebuilt Lyric theatre; Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.
The Lyric will celebrate its first birthday with a packed programme of diverse events. World renowned poet Heaney will be addressing a sold out audience in a lecture entitled ‘Speak The Speech’.
The poet unveiled the new £18m Lyric’s threshold stone in 2009 and heralded it as “a reminder of the vital artistic achievement in the past and the promise of ongoing creative vigour in the future”.
Another unmissable performance at the birthday celebrations will be a special one-off performance of The Third Policeman which will be narrated by Irish actor Stephen Rea accompanied by a trio of string musicians.
Richard Croxford, the Lyric’s artistic director said: “It’s hard to believe a whole year has flown by — it has been a whirlwind of magnificent and varied drama, events and creative learning at the Lyric.
“We have had amazing artists working with us the last year supported by a fantastic team of staff and it’s been a pleasure to welcome such wonderful audiences.
“We are now looking forward to another exciting year and are delighted to have Tim Loane’s The Civilisation Game on stage during our anniversary month.”
The theatre has welcomed performances from some famous names since it opened including Belfast’s own Kenneth Branagh and Rob Brydon in The Painkiller.
Celebratory birthday performances will take place over two weeks at the Lyric Theatre.