Last updated 05:15, Friday, 28 November 2008

A Christmas Carol, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Saturday, November 29 – Saturday, January 17. Jack and the Beanstalk, The Sands Centre, Carlisle, Wednesday, December 17 – New Year’s EveRed Riding Hood, West Walls Theatre, Carlisle, Monday, December 1 – Saturday, December 13 (except December 4 and December 11). Cinderella, John Peel Theatre, Wigton, Friday, December 5 – Saturday, December 13 The Adventures of Sinbad, Queen’s Hall Theatre, Hexham, Friday, December 5, 7pm/Saturday, December 6, 2pm/7pm

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Classic revisited: Peter Macqueen as Scrooge in the Theatre by the Lake’s A Christmas Carol

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick is staging a revival of its first-ever production, a theatrical version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

The famous story of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts who persuade him to change his miserly ways has been adapted for the stage by David Holman.

A Christmas Carol has been a huge hit ever since it was first published in 1843. It has been filmed and adapted for television many times; it has been turned into an opera and also frequently parodied. In the 165 years since it was written, its popularity has never faded. Familiar actors will be back in Keswick – including Simeon Truby, a veteran of the 1999 production. Tickets £10-£20.

n From Wednesday, December 17 until Tuesday, December 30 the Theatre also hosts A Touch of Magic, a Christmas show of festive readings interspersed with illusions. It will be performed by magician Tony Middleton each night at 10.15pm. Tickets £5.

All tickets are available online from www.theatrebythelake.co.uk or call 017687 74411.

Jack is played by Wayne Smith, star of ITV’s Grease Is the Word, who is making a return visit to the Sands Centre. He was last there in February when he appeared in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The princess is played by Lauren Drummond, known to BBC audiences for appearances in Waterloo Road and Holby City, while TV presenter Billy Walker from Workington plays the villain Dr Evilstein.

CFM breakfast radio presenter Robbie Dee, who has appeared in five previous Sands Centre pantos, returns for his sixth as Dame Kitty Trott, West End star Danielle Carson plays Doris and Tim Messent, holder of six national rowing medals, makes his debut as the giant. Once again, young performers from StagedRight, the Sands Centre’s youth theatre company, are also appearing.

Tickets £9-£10.50 (plus concessions), available from www.thesandscentre.co.uk or call 01228 625222.

Adapted by north Cumbria’s writing and acting ‘dynamic duo’ of James Sparks and Michael Spencer, (who are well-known to theatre-goers in north Cumbria) this is an inimitable, hilarious ‘Sparks & Spencer’ production.

Featuring (among others) Malcolm Dunn as the Dame and Grandma, Mark Davidson as Woody (the love interest) and Sparks & Spencer as gingerbread men, escaped convicts and policemen this is a panto for children and the young at heart of every age.

Tickets £7/£6, from Carlisle TIC. Call 01228 625600.

Adapted by Pat Conlan from the classic tale, needless to say Wigton Theatre Club’s version has a few twists and lots of local in-jokes. Tickets £5, available from Station Road Garage. Call 016973 44620.

Join Sinbad on his amazing, swash-buckling adventure to win the hand of the luscious Princess Lavishka. Performed by the Queen’s Hall Theatre Club. Tickets £6-£25 (family), available online from www.queenshall.co.uk or call 01434 652477.