The Lion in Love (play) in 1963. The Lion in Love (play) The Lion In Love is a 1960 play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney. It was her second written play. It was premiered at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry on 5 September 1960 With a cast from the English Stage Company, the play commenced a run at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 29 December 1960. The work has been described as a "follow up" to Delaney's 1958 play A Taste of Honey but did not achieve that earlier play's success. "The Lion in Love" had an Off-Broadway professional run in the
Theatre in Birmingham and this came to have a severe effect on the city's commercial theatres. Moss Empires closed the Theatre Royal in 1958, with the replacement proposed as part of the ATV Centre never materialising. The Alexandra Theatre was suffering financial problems by 1956, being forced to seek a loan from Birmingham City Council in 1963 and from the Arts Council in 1968. In October 1968 it was bought by the City Council and leased to a non- profit making management trust. The Alex's repertory company was closed in 1974 and the company continued as a receiving house. Moss Empires threatened to