IN AUGUST 1999 the curtain rose on one of the finest new theatres in the country Keswick's Theatre by the Lake, a £6.2 million state-of-the-art complex located on the picturesque shores of Derwentwater.

The 380-seater galleried auditorium (plus studio) replaced the old Century Theatre, which started as a collection of mobile caravans and cabins, originally nicknamed the Blue Box.

This year's summer season features a trio of productions in the main house and a further three plays in the smaller studio, running in rep until November 6.

Directed by Ian Forrest, Strangers on a Train is based in late 1940s America. Craig Warner's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's classic crime novel is a gripping psychological thriller - dark, tense and disturbing.

In the studio, Julie McKiernan's Tramping Like Mad joint winner of the 2003 New Cumbrian Play Competition is a touching new play about the Dierden family, rocked by secrets that surface when Donald Campbell's Bluebird was found in Coniston in 2001.

Philip King and Falkland Cary's Sailor, Beware is a funny, warm-hearted Northern comedy, which was a huge West End hit in the 1950s. It follows the preparations for a wedding day, normally a time of joyful celebration but not in Emma Hornett's household, where things seem to be going from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, Blue/Orange, by Joe Penhall, is a more edgy and contemporary play, which received a host of awards following its London premiere in 2000. In a London psychiatric hospital Christopher, a young black patient, has his bags packed and is ready to go. First he needs to be assessed - but the doctors can't agree. The play deals with the hot potatoes of race, madness and power and dazzles with a story as funny as it is provocative.

Bernard Shaw's charming anti-comedy' Arms and the Man tells the tale of a young Bulgarian girl Raina and her chocolate-cream soldier and deals with issues of heroism, war, class and love.

Last, but by no means least, Henrik Ibsen's classic Ghosts needs little introduction as the story of passion and conscience still has the power to grip and shock.

Theatregoers have a choice of two plays on most nights with opportunities to see the entire programme in just one week.

Tickets for all six productions are available from the theatre's ticket and information office on 017687-74411, priced from £5-£18.