SEAN Holmes, the director whose work includes an acclaimed revival of The Entertainer, is to be the new head of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.

Holmes, 39, will take over in the spring. He succeeds David Farr who is leaving to become an associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Announcing the move, Sandy Orr, chairman of the Lyric board, said he was delighted Holmes had accepted the invitation. "Everyone knows that Sean is one of today's outstanding theatre directors," he said.

Holmes said he was deeply excited at the prospect of running a theatre with such a rich history.

"The first time I saw a show at the Lyric, Hammersmith, I fell in love with the space.

"The Lyric has always been a place where you expect the unexpected and I intend to continue this tradition with a wide-ranging body of work which will engage, surprise and delight our audience."

The first Lyric theatre opened in King Street in 1895 and performers from Sir John Gielgud to the experimental Canadian writer/performer Robert Lepage have appeared there.

Its history includes the presentation of Harold Pinter's first full-length play, The Birthday Party, in 1958.

The theatre's mission statement is "to create groundbreaking work with and for a young, diverse, modern, urban audience that moves beyond conventional and naturalistic forms of theatre".

Sean Holmes trained as a director at the Orange Tree, Richmond, after taking an MA at King's College and Rada in text and performance. His recent productions include Pornography, the play about the 7 July bombings in London by Simon Stephens.

He has also directed a rare revival of The Man Who Had All The Luck by Arthur Miller at the Donmar Warehouse and The Entertainer starring Robert Lindsay at the Old Vic.

He was an associate director of the Oxford Stage Company and has worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as in the West End.

He is currently in rehearsal for Treasure Island starring Keith Allen.

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