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theatre · Thursday 10 September 2026 · 7:30pm, with 2:30pm matinees Saturday and Sunday 
The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong - Lyric Theatre Belfast
At Lyric Theatre Belfast, Main Stage · 55 Ridgeway Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim
At Lyric Theatre Belfast, Main Stage · 55 Ridgeway Street, Belfast, Co. Antrim
The Lyric Theatre Belfast presents The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September 2026, a one-man show starring Don Wycherley as Paddy Armstrong, one of the Guildford Four wrongfully convicted of a 1974 pub bombing. Drawing on Armstrong’s memoir, Life After Life, the play imagines Paddy fifty years after his wrongful conviction, at the age of 74, wrestling with a lifetime of turbulent memories as he faces into his twilight years. Described by its makers as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of forgiveness, the production traces how love, family and storytelling helped Armstrong rebuild a life after the injustice that took sixteen years of it from him. Running at 75 minutes with no interval, it is an intense, character-led piece built around Wycherley’s solo performance on the Lyric’s Main Stage.
Performances run Thursday 10 and Friday 11 September at 7:30pm, Saturday 12 September at both 2:30pm and 7:30pm, and a closing matinee on Sunday 13 September at 2:30pm. Tickets range from £16 to £36 depending on seating, and the show carries a 14+ age recommendation given its themes of wrongful imprisonment and injustice. Book through the Lyric Theatre website or by phone on 028 9038 1081. Given the short four-day run and the production’s touring pedigree, early booking is advised for weekend performances.
The Lyric Theatre is located on Ridgeway Street near Belfast’s Botanic Gardens and Queen’s University, with regular Translink bus routes serving the area and metered on-street parking close by. The Main Stage auditorium is fully accessible, and the theatre’s foyer bar and café are open before the show and during any interval.
Paddy Armstrong was one of four people wrongly convicted over the 1974 Guildford pub bombings and spent sixteen years in prison before his conviction was quashed in 1989, a history that gives this Belfast staging of his story particular weight for Northern Ireland audiences.
Heading to Lyric Theatre Belfast, Main Stage in Belfast? Antrim has plenty more to see. Read the Belfast area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
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