Theatre by the Lake is situated on the shores of

Derwentwater Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria. The lake occupies part of Borrowdal ...

in the Lake District in Keswick,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It opened in 1999, replacing the mobile Century Theatre, and was made possible by an Arts Council Lottery Fund Grant. From May to November a resident company of up to 14 actors perform a Summer Season of six plays in

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

. The theatre also produces a Christmas show and two Spring shows (one in the Main House and one in the Studio). The theatre hosts festivals including the Words by the Water literature festival, the

Jennings Jennings is a surname of early medieval English origin (also the Anglicised version of the Irish surnames Mac Sheóinín or MacJonin). Notable people with the surname include: *Jennings (Swedish noble family) A–G *Adam Jennings (born 1982), A ...

Keswick Jazz Festival, Keswick Film Festival and events in the Keswick Mountain Festival. In addition, the theatre offers a wide range of visiting drama, music, dance, talks, comedy and film.

History

The mobile touring Century Theatre first visited Keswick in 1961 and settled full-time in the Lakeside car park on the shores of

in 1975. Outline planning permission was granted for a permanent building on the site in 1991, and in 1996 the Century Theatre was moved to

Snibston Discovery Museum Snibston is an area and former civil parish east of Ravenstone, now in the parish of Ravenstone with Snibstone, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. Originally rural, part of Snibston was transfor ...

to make way for it. Work on the building began in 1998; the ground was broken by the theatre's patron,

Dame Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

. A significant proportion of the £6.5m building cost was contributed by the National Lottery. The name Theatre by the Lake was decided by public consultation and the first performance in the new building was on 19 August 1999. The theatre has two auditoria: 400 seats in the Main House; and 100 seats in the Studio.

Productions

References

External links

Theatre by the LakeNW Theatre's page on Theatre by the Lake and its past productions, including touring productions.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre by the Lake Theatres in Cumbria 1999 establishments in England Tourist attractions in Cumbria Keswick, Cumbria