Lyric Hammersmith Theatre announces spring 2024 season

The Lyric Hammersmith's new season features a bold adaptation of Minority Report and the UK premiere of the multi-award-winning Australian musical Fangirls.

The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre has announced productions for its Spring/Summer 2024 season, beginning in April. The season includes four shows, all of which are female-led productions.

"The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is a local theatre with a national impact, and we are proud to produce groundbreaking stories for audiences in West London and beyond," Lyric Hammersmith's Artistic Director Rachel O'Riordan said in a statement. "We are excited to share our new season with you. Step into our beautiful Frank Matcham auditorium - your portal from where you can explore the past, present and future."

David Haig's adaptation of Minority Report will begin the season from 19 April to 18 May 2024, following runs at Nottingham Playhouse and Birmingham Rep. Unlike previous adaptations, including the film starring Tom Cruise, this production reframes the central character as a leading female neuroscientist, Dame Julia Anderton. Max Webster (Life of Pi) directs the sci-fi thriller set in 2050 and follows a neuroscientist accused of pre-murder by her own pioneering pre-crime programme.

Following this production will be Alice Childress' play Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White from 31 May to 29 June 2024. Monique Touko returns to the Lyric Hammersmith to direct following the success of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Set in 1918 in South Carolina, Alice Childress' 1962 play is about interracial love and the brutalising effect of anti-miscegenation laws.

The UK premiere of the critically acclaimed Fangirls will play at the Lyric Hammersmith from 13 July to 24 August 2024. The multi-award-winning musical is written and composed by Australian playwright Yve Blake. Paige Rattray will direct the musical in a co-production with Sonia Friedman Productions. Edna is in love with Harry. But the problem is he's in the world's biggest boyband and doesn't know she exists. When Harry's band announces a tour stop in Edna's hometown, she knows this is her one chance. But how far is she willing to go in the name of love?

In the studio, the world premiere of The Promise will play from 30 April to 11 May 2024. The Promise is co-produced with Deafinitely Theatre and Birmingham Rep, an award-winning deaf-led theatre company in the UK, producing bilingual theatre in British Sign Language and Spoken English. Written by Paula Garfield and Melissa Mostyn, The Promise follows the impact that untreated dementia can have within the deaf community.

Photo credit: Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. (Photo courtesy of Lyric Hammersmith Theatre)