

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.
In the Press
★★★★ “Beautiful and breath-stopping”
The Stage
★★★★★ “Fast-paced, exhausting… surprisingly emotional and very powerful”
What’s Good to Do
★★★★½ “a real tribute to the spirit of Workington and should be treasured” “absolutely ideal for teenagers to go and see”
Northern Arts Review
“This month’s hottest ticket”
Cumberland and Westmorland Times
“Keeps you on the edge of your seat” “This production has the feel of a 1960s kitchen sink drama – but with the sophistication of a 21st-century writer’s hand.”
Cumbria 24
“Raw emotion is exposed with heartache and humour”
Mag North
Cast
KAMRAN | SURAJ SHAH
JAMES | JORDAN TWEDDLE
Creative Team
WRITER | LEE MATTINSON
DIRECTOR | LIZ STEVENSON
DESIGNER | SIMON KENNY
SOUND DESIGNER AND COMPOSER | MARK MELVILLE
LIGHTING DESIGNER | JESSIE ADDINALL
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR | KIERAN SHEEHAN
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR | MARK MACEY
COMMUNITY CHOIR MUSIC DIRECTOR | COLIN BRIND
SCENIC FLOOR ILLUSTRATOR | EMILY FORD
PRODUCER | JAMIE WALSH
PRODUCTION MANAGER | PHILIP GELLER
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR | KATIE HUTCHINGS
COMPANY STAGE MANAGER | SARAH GOODYEAR
TOURING TECHNICIAN | LAWRENCE CARTER
COSTUME SUPERVISOR | GEMMA REEVE
Artwork by Grant Archer.
Theatre by the Lake in association with Park Theatre presents
Steel
By Lee Mattinson, Directed by Liz Stevenson