The Lyric Theatre is the oldest surviving of all the theatres currently on Shaftesbury Avenue. The foyers and bar areas were completely redocorated in 1932/33 while the exterior was restored in 1994.
The Lyric Theatre initially staged mostly light operattas when it first opened before subsquently staging light comedies and straight drama. In 1950 Andre Roussin's The Little Hut run for 1,261 performances with Robert Morley in the first cast. 1972 saw Alan Ayckbourn's How the Other Half Loves run for 869 performances. More recently Five Guys Named Moe, a musical based on the songs of Louis Jordan, had a very successful run here - opening 14 December 1990 and running until 4 March 1995.