A lavish new production of Alan Plater’s Blonde Bombshells of 1943 is one of five ambitious co-productions lined up for the spring/summer 2023 season at the Theatre By The Lake in the heart of the Lake District.
Co-produced by Theatre By The Lake (TBTL), Bolton’s Octagon Theatre and the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, the production which will be directed by Lotte Wakeham will play the Keswick venue from 5-29 July 2023.
Acclaimed screenwriter and playwright Plater’s stage adaptation of the BAFTA-winning 2000 film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells features live swing performances of 1940s classic by Glenn Miller, The Andrews Sisters, George Formby and Fats Waller. Set in war-time England, the feel-good play with music follows the fortunes of an all-girl swing band.
The season will also include family-friendly musical The Lost Spells – A New Musical co-produced by TBTL, Goblin Theatre, Watford Palace Theatre and Polka. Running from 24 May until 3 June 2023, the stage version of the best-selling book by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris will feature a cast of talented actor-musicians directed by Charlotte Westenra.
A new re-imagining of the classic story Around The World in 80 Days will be the opening production of the season. A TBTL co-production with Hull Truck Theatre, Jules Verne’s timeless tale of globe-trotting Phileas Fogg has been adapted by writer Laura Eason. Directed by Hal Chambers and featuring a mix of music, puppetry and circus the production will play the Theatre By The Lake from 31 March until 29 April 2023.
TBTL and the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s Olivier Award-winning The 39 Steps will be the fourth co-production of the season. Running from 3 August until 2 September 2023, the play which mixes a little Hitchcock, a classic spy story and dash of Monty Python is directed by Paul Robinson, the director of this year’s TBTL co-production of Brief Encounter.
From 7-15 June 2023, the theatre will present TBTL’s most accessible programme to date, Tuning In. In a first for theatre, all performances of the powerful one-man show will be both captioned and audio described. Written and performed by Adam Fenton and directed by Nickie Miles-Wildin, the work was originally developed by TBTL as part of the digital SPARK programme in 2021.
Unveiling details of the spring/summer season, Theatre by the Lake’s artistic director, Liz Stevenson said: “I am very proud to present this exciting new programme for spring 2023 at Theatre by the Lake. This season we see the forging of a new relationship for co-producing with the marvellous Hull Truck Theatre, and we build on our existing producing relationships with Bolton Octagon and the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
“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. 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!”
Angela Thomas
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