Cast announced for the world premiere of The Farmer’s Wife at Theatre by the Lake

Theatre by the Lake announced the cast for its upcoming world premiere production of The Farmer’s Wife, a new play by Hannah Khalil inspired by the Sunday Times best-selling memoir by Helen Rebanks.

The newly announced trio features award-winning West Cumbrian actress and writer Christine Entwisle (Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court), soap opera veteran Roberta Kerr (Coronation Street, Emmerdale), and fellow Cumbrian native Eireann Devlin (CBBC’s The Dumping Ground) who earned recognition from the Women’s Prize for Playwriting last year for her deeply moving script exploring rural life. The casting of local talent Entwisle and Devlin underscores Theatre by the Lake’s dedicated mission to champion homegrown Cumbrian voices.

Brought to life by an all-female-led creative team, the production follows three generations of women – a grandmother, a mother, and a daughter – over the course of one day on a working Cumbrian family farm. Staged in the round, the play explores the beauty and weight of a life rooted in the land, shaped by the real voices of women within the local farming community.

Award-winning playwright Hannah Khalil (Bristol Old Vic Writer in Residence, National Theatre of Scotland, RSC, The Globe Theatre), has written a moving and deeply human drama which unfolds in the heart of rural Lakeland. 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 home-grown 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.”

Amy Bateman Forty Farms 

On display at Theatre by the lake for the duration of the play’s run, the evocative Forty Farms exhibition chronicles a year-long journey documenting the lives, landscapes, and evolutionary shifts of 40 diverse farming enterprises across Cumbria and the Lake District. Stepping beyond the ‘farm gate’, award-winning photographer and Cumbrian livestock farmer Amy Bateman captures both the profound beauty and the raw daily challenges of a life deeply connected to Cumbrian farmland. Among those featured in Bateman’s portraits is local author and farmer Helen Rebanks, whose experiences perfectly capture the spirit of the rural landscape.

The Farmer’s Wife plays at Theatre by the Lake 18 September – 10 October 2026. Tickets are available here.