Belfast's Lyric wins big at UK Theatre Awards

The UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide awards to celebrate the outstanding achievements of regional and national theatre in Britain and were hed at London’s Guildhall on October 23.

Along with producing partner the Abbey Theatre Dublin, the Lyric won Best Play Revival for its co-production of Brian Friel’s Translations.

The theatre was also announced as a winner for excellence in arts education across Northern Ireland.

The highly acclaimed production of Translations opened in Belfast earlier this year, over 40 years after its first production at the Guildhall in Londonderry which starred Stephen Rea and Liam Neeson.

It was described by The Guardian as “a timeless study of change and identity”, finding a new potency in a time where Brexit has thrown current Anglo-Irish relations into sharp relief.

The second UK Theatre award was for Excellence in Arts Education, and recognised the Lyric’s Drama Studio, an actor-training programme which has been running for over 30 years, and is led by the head of creative learning at the theatre, Philip Crawford. Famous alumni include Anthony Boyle and Zara Devlin.

Jimmy Fay, executive producer at the Lyric Theatre, said: “This is a seminal play dealing with language, identity and borders that contains one of the most extraordinary scenes of love written in any language. The fact that this award was given to two Irish companies from north and south in the very grand and historic Guildhall London demonstrates the power of sharing and understanding between our islands.”

He added: “The Excellence in Arts Education award is a wonderful acknowledgement of the truly trojan work Philip and his Creative Learning team has done for our community and our theatre over the years. A theatre such as the Lyric is no good unless it can be a vital part of our community and society. Creative Learning offers a gateway for the young and curious to experience the power and magic of what theatre can do and does. Discovering the power and democracy of theatre is one of life’s great joys, and what the Lyric’s Creative Learning department proves week after week is just how transformative that engagement with our own and others’ imagination really is.”