Penrith Playhouse: Fawlty Towers. Wed 2 June-Sat 5 June The exploits and misadventures of short-fused hotelier Basil Fawlty who together with his wife Sybil run a seaside hotel in sunny Torquay. Tel: 01768 865557, web: http://www.penrithplayers.co.uk/

Hutton-in-the-Forest, Penrith: Romeo and Juliet. Tue 22 June-Wed 23 June 7:30pmIllyria Outdoor Theatre’s outdoor production of William Shakespeare’s romantic and tragic play. Web: http://www.hutton-in-the-forest.co.uk

Theatre By The Lake – The Richard Matthewman Stories Mon 7 June-Wed 9 June, 8pm. (2pm matinee on Wed)
At the age of 42, teacher Richard Matthewman looks back at the milestones of his life – from his school days in the early 60s to the World Cup victory in 1966, the summer of love, marriage and the birth of his first child. He recalls a life that has been filled with a rich brew of characters whose tight-knit community is as strong and down to earth as the coal seams on which it was built.

Silence. Fri 18 June-Sat 6 November. Viking bloodshed, hallucinogenic drugs and a cart-chase from Canterbury to Cumbria! Moira Buffini’s award-winning comic drama is a road trip through Dark Ages England with a cast of characters inspired by history and all living on the edge of destruction.

What the Butler Saw. Fri 11 June–Sat 6 November. An outrageous sexual farce set in a psychiatric clinic; dressing, undressing and cross-dressing, fast, funny and frantic fare from the writer of Loot.

Northanger Abbey. Sat 29 May-Fri 5 November. Balls and bonnets in Bath with a shiver of Gothic horror in this fresh and lively adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic.

Shining City. Sat 29 May-Friday 5 November. Set in the office of a Dublin therapist, this is a chilling, contemporary ghost story dealing with guilt, redemption and loneliness at the heart of a crowded city. Ian leaves the priesthood and becomes a therapist. Can he help a man claiming to have seen the ghost of his dead wife?

Tel: 017687 74411, website www.theatrebythelake.com