The Shepherd's Life
03:34
Since moving to Cumbria, we've never had a dull weekend! There's always
so much to do and events every week that we never want to miss! A couple of
weeks ago, we spotted an advertisement in Penrith Today for a production of The
Shepherd's Life (written by James Rebanks) at the Theatre by the Lake in
Keswick, a book we'd been gifted no less than 3 times since having moved, so we
knew we had to get tickets!
It turned out to be an extremely popular event as there were only a few
tickets left but we nabbed 3 seats in the side stalls (which turned out to be
fantastic seats) and made a day out of it. Keswick is one of my favourite towns
in Cumbria because it's absolutely beautiful and there's so much there to do
and see. Unfortunately, Keswick was amongst the many places to be hit by the
December floods so there are a few closures in places but as a whole, the town
has coped fantastically and there is little visible damage! We stopped for
lunch at The Wild Strawberry on Main St where mum and I had afternoon tea and
my stepdad had a Fellwalker's Platter! It was really yummy so check it out if
you're in the area!
After lunch, we wandered through the town and stopped in a few shops
before heading towards the theatre. If you couldn't tell by the name, Keswick's
theatre is situated by the lake with a stunning view of Derwent Water.
Unfortunately, it was raining when we arrived so we decided not to explore the
area but when the weather is nice, it's a beautiful walk up to the shores so do
take the time if you can!
The play itself was fantastic. I haven't yet
read the book so I can't comment on how well it has been adapted for the
theatre but the performance was fantastic. The Shepherd's Life offers a unique
account of the rural life of 3 generations of farmers living in the Eden Valley
whose family has farmed the land for more than 600 years. The gruelling and
often saddening narrative is lifted by dry humour and witty Cumbrian dialect
and the local cast really brought to life James's passion and connection to the
land.
For me, the highlight of the play was not the plot however, but the
puppetry. The animals in James's life are just as much vital to his livelihood
than the people, and a huge amount of narrative is devoted to them so it was
important for the dramatisation to capture their role in the story. Jimmy
Grimes's beautiful puppets, perfectly manoeuvred by the community cast, were a
superb addition to the play and the audience were completely charmed by them.
There's a fab interview with Jimmy Grimes (and some great pictures) here as well as a short clip by the BBC here showing you how the puppets were
handled!
Unfortunately, the play is no longer showing but I would highly
recommend reading the book, it's a thoroughly heartwarming story and one you
will particularly enjoy if you live in Cumbria!
Have a great week!
Jade x
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You can buy or download The Shepherd's Life on Amazon and physical copies can be found in all
good bookstores.
You can also follow James Rebanks on Twitter @herdyshepherd1
I'm also on social media!
Follow me on Instagram @jade_cormack and @countryandcloud
Follow me on Twitter @jadecormack
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