THEATRE / Notices

GOOD NEWS. The Lyric Hammersmith is within pounds 50,000 of its fundraising target. The appeal, launched last November, has raised pounds 150,000 so far and the sum has now been matched by a one-off grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

In addition, the local authority (Hammersmith and Fulham) have confirmed a (standstill) grant for 1994/5. The funds raised enable the theatre to take up the grant and present a programme through the summer including Fascinating Aida, the Maly Theatre of St Petersburg's The Cherry Orchard, Cambridge Theatre Company in Uncle Silas, and Cheek by Jowl's Measure for Measure. The last show will be The Lady from the Sea which was last seen in London at Hammersmith's similarly beleagured Riverside Studios (and anyone in search of great theatre should camp out for returns to see Twyla Tharp Dance there).

With only a month to go, the administrative producer Simon Mellor is confident of success. 'We are thrilled by the level of support, from the public and the theatre profession. I believe that somehow we will get the final pounds 50,000 we need to complete the year's programme.' With Neil Bartlett's production of A Picture of Dorian Gray waiting in the wings (starring Sheila Hancock, designed by Ian MacNeil), Mellor's confidence would appear to be well-placed.