Five ambitious new co-productions have been announced by Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake for its spring-summer 2023 season.
Artistic director Liz Stevenson said she was very proud to present an exciting programme which will see the attraction forging a new relationship for co-producing with the Hull Truck Theatre company as well as building on existing producing relationships with Bolton Octagon and the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
The new co-productions are:
- Around The World in 80 Days takes the audience on a global adventure and is co-produced with Hull Truck Theatre;
- The Lost Spells – A New Musical, adapted from the best-selling book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, co-produced with Goblin Theatre, Watford Palace Theatre and Polka;
- A lavish new production of Blonde Bombshells of 1943, co-produced with Octagon Theatre Bolton and Stephen Joseph Theatre;
- Hitchcock treat The 39 Steps, co-produced with Stephen Joseph Theatre;
- Tuning In, a one-man tour-de-force exploring disability prejudice which will be the theatre’s most accessible production to date.
In addition to its own productions, the theatre will also host a selection of top-class visiting companies through the season.
How Not To Drown by ThickSkin and Traverse Theatre Company, will run between February 28 and March 2. This action-packed production tells the true story of an 11-year-old unaccompanied asylum seeker, written and performed by Dritan Kastrati, who himself escaped the aftermath of the Kosovan War to make a new life in Europe with a gang of people smugglers.
The Winston Machine is an unmissable new show from award-winning Kandinsky Theatre Company, that moves between the 1940s and 2020s to explore the past and its ghosts in the present. Northern Broadsides and New Vic Theatre present Quality Street, a delicious farce written by J.M. Barrie that was such a sensation in its day that it gave its name to the UK’s most loved chocolates.
Families are well catered for this spring, with a host of live activities for little ones starting with The Adventures of The Little Red Hen by Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company, who return to the theatre after their sell-out run of Pinocchio in February.
“Our production of Tuning In shows our commitment to supporting new writing and working with disabled artists, as we continue on our journey to be a fully accessible theatre that can be enjoyed by everyone,” said Ms Stevenson.
“As usual we are bringing some of the best touring shows to Keswick, including stand-out productions for children and families, and we celebrate creativity with performances forged in the Cumbrian communities that we serve. We encourage everyone to come and enjoy the magic of live theatre once more!”
