LYCEUM THEATRE

playhouse on Wellington Street, just north of the Strand, in the Greater London borough of Westminster. A hall called the Lyceum was built near the site in 1771. A new building, called the Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, was built by Samuel Beazley to the west of the original site. It opened in 1834 to become the most notable theatre in London under the management of Henry Irving, from 1878 to 1899. Extensively rebuilt in 1904, it then became a music hall and home of melodrama. After World War II it was converted into a dance hall and used also for rock concerts. The Lyceum Theatre withstood closures and several calls for its demolition throughout the 20th century; it was restored and enlarged in the mid-1990s to serve once again as a home to theatrical productions.