Theatre by the Lake premieres The Farmer's Wife in Keswick

Few theatres anywhere can match the setting of Theatre by the Lake. The Keswick venue sits on the shore of Derwentwater, and in 2026 it has used that sense of place to tell a story that belongs very much to the fells around it.

From 18 September to 10 October the theatre staged the world premiere of The Farmer's Wife, a new play by Hannah Khalil based on the memoir by Helen Rebanks. The production was directed by Liz Stevenson, with a cast that included Roberta Kerr, familiar to many from Coronation Street, alongside Christine Entwisle and Eireann Devlin.

It was a fitting headline for a season that has mixed new writing with much-loved stories. Stage versions of Lark Rise to Candleford and Nell Gwynn have featured on the programme, along with Calendar Girls the Musical, and the theatre has also been taking its 2023 production of Every Brilliant Thing back out on the road.

The building has its own remarkable story. Its roots lie in the Century Theatre, the mobile touring company whose famous Blue Box first visited Keswick in 1961 and settled full time in the Lakeside car park on the shores of Derwentwater in 1975.

The permanent theatre that replaced it opened in August 1999, made possible by an Arts Council Lottery Fund grant, and it has been described as the first theatre built using National Lottery money. A book marking its first decade recalls that it opened on time, only just, and on budget.

Today it produces up to nine plays a year across two spaces, a 400-seat Main House and a 100-seat Studio. Its summer repertory tradition, with a resident company presenting several plays in rotation, means visitors staying in the area for a week can often see more than one show.

The theatre is also a place for visual art. Earlier this year it hosted a free exhibition of original works by the Lake District painter Julian Cooper, running from 16 March to 18 April.

With A Christmas Carol still to come in the 2026 programme, there is plenty more ahead this year. Full listings, booking and details of upcoming seasons are on the Theatre by the Lake website.