Four Weeks To Go & How Far We Reach!

This week has been a time to really consider the reach of this mighty little theatre in the region of Cumbria. Now maybe we are getting a bit carried away with the idea of great distances when talking about Carlisle, Cockermouth or the Old Man of Coniston, but it is very impressive to be wandering about in any of these far-flung places and to have someone suddenly pounce on you and say how much they enjoyed the show they saw you in at Theatre by the Lake.  Some of the girls   went shopping in Carlisle and met a large group of students who had seen Roma & the Flanelettes and who became quite hysterical at the sight of Brenda & Delie in the flesh. It also reminds you that you can never judge an audience by what you might see from the odd glimpse at them from the stage or even by listening to their reactions! The night those students came was a very unsettling one, as they sniggered and fidgeted about throughout or appeared to be lounging about in utter boredom with the whole thing. Turns out we blew their minds. Who'd have thought? Maybe they don't know how to behave when they enjoy something in a social situation? Should we create an app for that? Honestly! I have worked with a lovely man called Neil Bartlett who used to run the Lyric Hammersmith and when large numbers of school children arrived to see a show, he would invite them in to the theatre for a chat. Seriously, the man knew what he was doing; many young people have never been to the theatre and don't know the way to behave, don't understand that talking, walking about, texting & listening to music on your iphone isn't what you do once the play has started! He would be very kind but firm about it and I take my hat off to him.
 The lady in Cockermouth almost fell of her chair because she'd seen the show only the night before and suddenly Delie and Jean were in her shop, but somewhat altered, in the wrong clothes. That disconnect is something you forget about; something can can easily confuse people. You need only to bear a passing resemblance to a fellow actor; same hair style & colour for instance, and you can be constantly mistaken for the other one. This can lead to all manner of paranoid thoughts if you're not careful, and you have to try to grab some perspective.  For example, the theatre here often uses members of staff as models for the show posters, which actors have very mixed feelings about for obvious reasons, but it is a practical matter out of our hands. To then hear a man walking past the green room open windows say how much he thought that the young man in the poster was the best actor in the show makes you realise that these mistakes happen all the time. David Hockney is famously often confused with Alan Bennett and I believe now they both simply sign each others' autographs and don't even try to correct the erroneous autograph hunter. There are more important things in life to worry about I guess!
So we enter the last three weeks of this marathon and splendid experience at Theatre by the Lake. Come and see us while you still might have the chance! The trees around the lake are turning and some mornings the waters are like glass.. fires have been lit and the fine wines await. Pull on a fleece and sensible pair of boots and join us before winter closes in!