My understanding of the 1980s is from the music – Morrissey, ABBA, - however Handbagged gave me a whistle-trip tour through the decade of Thatcherism, and I enjoyed every step of the way writes Katie Chesworth.

For those who missed the world premiere of How My Light Is Spent at the Royal Exchange in April, or the run at the Sharman Theatre in Cardiff in May, there is one more opportunity to enjoy this new and uplifting work by Alan Harris in the Lake District, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth.

The ageing bright young things bring their party life to Theatre by the Lake for the summer, however the self-deception and empty life style places the dark clouds of reality centre stage.

Set between the wars, this glamorous production which first hit the West End in 1939 uncovers the human suffering masked by the highlife of the very rich and privileged.

William Wordsworth and the Lake District are like bread and butter, naturally going together – and what better place to host the World Premiere of the new play about the English poet, William Wordsworth than Theatre by the Lake in Keswick.

In an age of senior citizens being left to die on trollies in hospital wards, abused cases in care homes and a mood swing to blame baby boomers and older for global warming and the financial crisis leaving the next generation without pension cover – this new play by Sandi Toksvig brings a sense of calm and comic reflection on the aging process in Silver Lining.

Knowing what to believe and distinguishing fact from fiction is at the heart of these Arthur Miller plays, which explores aspects of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe – yet is very apt for the times we are now living in.

The two plays both focus on two people with two very different views of the same reality. The first short act ‘Elegy For A Lady’ is set in a 1950s collectable shop in New York. The Man is looking for a gift for his dying mistress, the proprietress a sounding board, that questions what are the real facts and what is pseudo-evidence to support the hypothesis in his head.