STEEL

By Lee Mattinson

Directed by Liz Stevenson

A Theatre by the Lake production

Two lads. Twelve hours. One million pounds.

On the wet West Cumbrian coast, James and Kamran have been mates for more than a decade. At seventeen, the world should be theirs but Workington’s a ghost town – an unemployment blackspot where lasses drink Bacardi by the pint and boys don’t cry.

When James discovers he is heir to a single mile of the British railway system, the lads are forced on a town-wide treasure hunt where annihilated aunties, Snakebite-drenched drag queens and a zombie Princess Diana lay in wait. But who rightfully owns the mile of steel? Why is Kamran in such a strop? And what really happens in the pub down by the docks?

In a town once rich with coal seams and ore, with community and carnivals, with sea air and ale, James and Kamran are fed up with feeling different – tonight they’re painting the town technicolour and asking what it means to be a man in a play about first loves, forging identities and the wild, wild hearts of teenage boys.

Age guidance: 14+

Running time: 1 hour and 25 minutes (no interval)

POST-SHOW FORUM – hosted by either the Associate Director of Steel or  TBTL’s Community Engagement Associate. Includes Q&A with the cast and opens up for discussion on the themes of the play with the audience. Will take place after the performance from 9-9.45pm.