Belfast’s Lyric Theatre has staved off demise with an injection of cash fundraising. “The Lyric is Northern Ireland’s only producing theatre. It famously kept its doors open during the Troubles, with actors such as Simon Callow sometimes performing to a background of bombs and gunshots. Neeson, born in Ballymena, called it his “Belisha beacon of light”. During blackouts, actors would hold candles and ask the audience to hold lamps. But the Lyric’s rotting building has been described as squalid. Backstage, the actors cannot flush the toilet during a performance.”