The Hound of the Baskervilles at Theatre by the Lake

Keswick, Cumbria. Saturday 17-August-2024.

Mary spotted this piece of entertainment at Theatre by the Lake (TBTL) and thought we would take advantage of our Old Gits(™) bus passes and go for a matinee. That way we could get there and back for free. It also meant I could have a drink or three.

My father had two Sherlock Holmes omnibus editions, one of the short stories and one of the novels which I read multiple times during my teens so the tales are embedded in my brain. Not quite sure what I was letting myself in for based on the description but always game to have a go at another interpretation. 

This production was basically farce with a fair amount of slapstick thrown in and the fourth wall was not only broken but smashed to smithereens. All parts were played by just three performers with an emphasis on cross dressing in true Pantomime Dame fashion. It was all very clever and entertaining. 

Having been here a few times now and been impressed by every performance we feel lucky to have this gem of a theatre in our area.

Afterwards we had booked ourselves an early supper at Bar eS Tapas and had some time to kill before our reservation so went for a beer at The Crafty Baa. We had been to one in Windermere but this Keswick bar was a new discovery for us, a decent craft ale bar with a an extensive collection of bottle beers and half a dozen on draft. I had the stout and Mary went for a weiss beer. Neither us were particularly impressed by our beers, they were OK but nothing special. 

We have been to Bar eS Tapas before and we enjoyed a selection of dishes, five between the two of us was their recommendation though we did add a sixth and had no trouble finishing them all.

After the meal we had time to wait for the next bus so we went into a nearby wine bar which we had not tried before: Lake District Wine. It describes itself as a tasting room and shop. You can buy by the glass and they also offered the option to buy a bottle off the shelf and pay corkage. I had a Puglian Appassimento and Mary had an Alvarino. Too late we noticed that they offered a tasting flight of three wines so next time we are in Keswick we will give that a try.

Then it was back home on the bus having had a very jolly afternoon and evening out.