New Writing

We are storytellers. At the Lyric, we champion bold voices, nurture new talent, and celebrate the best of our playwrights and creatives.

Our stage has launched some of the most important works in modern theatre: Stewart Parker’s Northern Star (1982), Martin Lynch’s Dockers (1981), Christina Reid’s Tea in a China Cup (1983), Marie Jones’s Stones in his Pockets (1997), Gary Mitchell’s Demented (2014), Lucy Caldwell’s Three Sisters (2016), Rosemary Jenkinson’s Here Comes the Night(2016), Meghan Tyler’s Crocodile Fever (2019), David Ireland’s Sadie (2021), Oisín Kearney & Michael Patrick’s The Border Game (2021), Tara-Lynne O'Neill’s Rough Girls (2021), Conor Mitchell’s Propaganda: A New Musical (2022), and Owen McCafferty’s Agreement (2023).

Through our Literary Department, we invest in talent with the New Playwrights Programme, masterclasses, and hands-on dramaturgical support. As Northern Ireland’s only full-time producing and development house, we are relentless in our pursuit of new voices and vital stories.

We are proud to deliver work that is daring, diverse, and world-class. That’s why The Stage named us Theatre of the Year 2023—a recognition of our impact on writers and our artistic community.

“At a time when new writing in the UK is facing damaging cuts, we are delighted to be able to celebrate [this] wonderful producing theatre who [is] staging some of the most exciting new work around, while also maintaining and extending their support to playwrights.”
—Alistair Smith, The Stage, Theatre of the Year 2023

We don’t just create work—we take it to the world. From Belfast to New York and Dublin, we showcase Northern Irish voices on the global stage. Good Vibrations by Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson, and Owen McCafferty’s Agreement—both premiered at the Lyric—went on to acclaimed runs at the Irish Arts Center in New York, with Agreement also transferring to Dublin’s Gate Theatre.

We’re not accepting unsolicited scripts at the moment. Our Open Call is currently closed, but any future opportunities will be announced on our website—so keep an eye out.