North West playwright Becky Prestwich awarded 2026 Peter Shaffer Commission for new TBTL play
Theatre by the Lake (TBTL) announces that North West playwright Becky Prestwich has been awarded a 2026 Peter Shaffer Commission for Our Windermere, a brand-new play commissioned for the Keswick theatre.
The National Theatre, in partnership with The Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation, awards seven Peter Shaffer Commissions each year to support playwrights from across the UK to develop ambitious, larger-scale original plays, continuing Sir Peter Shaffer’s desire to support playwrights and new writing. Five of the commissions are awarded through an open call to theatres and companies across the UK, with Our Windermere selected as one of the successful projects for 2026. The play was recognised for its “scale, story, reach and heart”, with the commission supporting Becky as she develops the new play for TBTL.
Becky Prestwich is a North West writer for stage, screen and radio. Her television credits include multiple episodes of Casualty, Holby City and Doctors, as well as Is This Sexual Harassment? for BBC Three, and she has written six Afternoon Dramas for BBC Radio 4.
As a playwright, Becky specialises in work with community casts and in non-traditional theatre spaces. Her previous work includes Under the Market Roof for Junction 8 Theatre, Chip Shop Chips for Box of Tricks Theatre Company and One Night in Bolton for Bolton Octagon Theatre. Before becoming a full-time writer, Becky worked in participatory arts, including as Young People’s Programme Leader at the Royal Exchange Theatre from 2005 to 2014.
Becky said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Peter Shaffer commission. Our Windermere is a story about survival, acceptance and the transformative power of a place. There is no more fitting place for this story to be told than at the Theatre by the Lake, and I can’t wait to get started!”
The commission forms part of TBTL’s wider commitment to commissioning and developing new work, bringing stories rooted in the region and its communities to the stage. Recent examples include The Farmer’s Wife, a new play by Hannah Khalil inspired by Helen Rebanks’ Sunday Times bestselling memoir, which opens at TBTL on 18 September, and Lee Mattinson’s Steel, inspired by the people and industrial heritage of West Cumbria, whose regional and national tour won the Excellence in Touring Award at the UK Theatre Awards 2025.
Alongside producing new work for its stages, TBTL supports the development of artists, writers and new ideas through its Cumbrian Creatives network and initiatives including CumbriaFest, creating opportunities for theatre-makers from across the county to connect, develop their practice, experiment with new work and share it with audiences.
Liz Stevenson, Artistic Director of Theatre by the Lake, said:
“We’re really pleased that Becky has been awarded a Peter Shaffer Commission for Our Windermere. It’s a great opportunity for her to develop the play, and we’re very grateful to The Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation and the National Theatre for their support of new writing across the UK.
Supporting writers to develop ambitious new work and making space for stories that have a real connection to Cumbria is an important part of what we do – we want TBTL to be a place where regional stories and creative talent can grow. Becky is a brilliant North West writer and Our Windermere has such exciting potential – we’re really looking forward to working with her as the play develops.”
Further details about Our Windermere will be announced as the project develops.
The commissioning of this production was supported by The Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation.