THE FARMER'S WIFE World Premiere to Open at Theatre by the Lake This Autumn
Playwright Hannah Khalil and director Liz Stevenson bring Helen Rebanks' memoir to the Keswick stage.
Theatre by the Lake will present the World Premiere of a brand-new play The Farmer's Wife inspired by Helen Rebanks' best-selling memoir and shaped by the voices of women within Cumbria's farming community. Written by award-winning playwright Hannah Khalil (Bristol Old Vic Writer in Residence, National Theatre of Scotland, RSC, The Globe Theatre), this moving and deeply human drama unfolds in the heart of rural Lakeland. The story follows three generations of women living on a family farm. Here, a daughter, a mother, and a grandmother share a kitchen, their stories overlapping as past and present sit side by side.
Directed by Theatre by the Lake's Artistic Director and joint CEO Liz Stevenson (the JMK Award-winner behind Steel, Brassed Off, and the Olivier-nominated Barbarians, Young Vic), this all female-led production celebrates human connection and the nurturing journey of honest, farm-to-table food. It honours women's invisible labour in sustaining family and land while confronting the truths of modern farming life.
Helen Rebanks says: "Having my story inspire an entirely new play at Theatre by the Lake is both thrilling and humbling. Hannah Khalil is an extraordinary playwright — she has taken my experiences, and those of other farming women, and shaped them into something with real emotional depth and a genuine sensitivity to the lives it portrays.
“Liz Stevenson, Theatre by the Lake's Artistic Director, has been wonderful throughout, truly listening to both my ideas and my initial apprehensiveness, which has meant everything. This feels like more than a play to me. It is a chance to bring a rural voice to the stage; the voice of farming women, so often overlooked or left unheard at a time when agriculture is facing some of its greatest challenges in living memory. I hope we do the farming community proud.”
Ten years ago, Theatre by the Lake premiered A Shepherd's Life, adapted from the best-selling memoir by regenerative farming advocate James Rebanks, Helen's husband. By continuing to bring these local narratives to the stage, the theatre reinforces its deep commitment to celebrating the unique heritage and voices of Cumbria.
Liz Stevenson says: “The Farmer's Wife is a vital new play speaking directly to the labour and resilience of rural women, shining a light on stories so often left untold. Hannah Khalil captures the emotional truth and complexity of their experiences in a changing world with enormous warmth, honesty, and compassion. Our production brings this story to life through a highly stylised staging that evokes the essence of the landscape. It promises to be a deeply atmospheric experience, a theatrical love letter to the raw beauty of the Lake District fells.”
Hannah Khalil adds: “I've had a love affair with the Lakes since my early adulthood and have dreamed of making a play for Theatre by The Lake. So it's my absolute honour to have had the opportunity to write this play celebrating the hidden labour of women in farming, like my grandmothers, inspired by Helen's honest memoir.”
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