As we approach our 75th anniversary, we're proud to officially launch Fund for the Future — an ambitious five-year campaign to raise £5 million and secure the next chapter of the Lyric Theatre.
For 75 years the Lyric has been more than a theatre. We've been a shared civic space where barriers fall, ideas flourish, and creativity transforms lives.
Our Fund For The Future Campaign aims to raise essential funds to support our Creative Learning Team's education and outreach work, new writing, international touring, artist development, and environmental sustainability. Central to this ambition is ‘The Nest’ — a dedicated capital build that will become a vital space for training, development, and creative exploration for the next generation.
What Fund For The Future Hopes To Achieve
- Continuation of our work with young people - Each year we work with almost 7,000 young people in 105 schools across Northern Ireland. We want to continue and develop this work, expanding our capacity to reach even more children and make a bigger impact across disadvantaged communities. At the moment we are at capacity and need to raise funds to allow us to continue our work.
- Capital Build 'The Nest' - The primary objective of this campaign is to build a new, bespoke space for our Creative Learning Team to host their work with young people. This Capital Build will enhance our capacity to welcome more young people and nurture their development through our education and outreach work.
- Supporting the Lyric touring programme - With over 100,000 patrons visiting our building every year, we want to expand our capacity and reach wider audiences. Buy increasing our capacity to tour, we will be able to celebrate Northern Irish talent on global stages from the USA to London.
- Implement strategies for new writing, new work and archive - We want to increase our capacity to nurture new work and voices. By securing funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund we are embarking on a three year heritage project to archive 75 years of work with a newly appointed Heritage Manager. The significance of this work has highlighted the importance of archiving for us ahead of our 75th year. We want to fundraise to develop and nurture our archiving further.
- Creating more pathways into the theatre industry - We are currently the largest employer of theatre workers in Northern Ireland. Between April 2024-March 2025 alone we employed 114 staff and 368 freelancers. By securing additional funding we can increase our capacity to hire and make more opportunities within the theatre industry in Northern Ireland.
- Increasing sustainable practices through the Lyric Scene Shop - Established in 2021, the Lyric Scene Shop works to Theatre Green Book Standards, creating sustainably sourced sets for all Lyric Main Stage productions and for other companies across Northern Ireland and Ireland. We need to secure additional funds to continue this important work.
Join Us in Building Our Future
We invite our audiences, supporters and partners to help us build a vibrant future for our theatre. By donating to the Fund for the Future, you become a vital part of our ongoing story, a story rooted in creativity, community and the belief that theatre can change lives.