A PAIR of one-act plays by Arthur Miller form one of the highlights in the Theatre by the Lake spring season.

The Keswick venue stages Two-Way Mirror, directed by John Dove, initially appearing in the main house from Saturday March 18 to Saturday 25.

The production then tours to Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, Kirkstile Community Centre, Santon Bridge Village Hall, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, St Thomas Church Hall, Shap Memorial Hall, Hamsterley Village Hall, Bardon Mill and Henshaw Village Hall, before returning to the Theatre by the Lake for another two-week run in April.

A beautiful double bill exploring illusion, love and the power of desire, the thrilling yet tender Some Kind of Love Story is paired with Elegy For A Lady.

The former tells the story of a private detective, determined to expose a miscarriage of justice. But his fragile ex-lover seems to know more than she’s telling and as the pressure grows, reality and truth prove harder and harder to grasp.

Elegy for a Lady follows a conversation between a shopkeeper and a man searching for a gift for his dying mistress. Confidences and secrets are shared in an intimate exchange through which we question how well we ever really know the ones we love.

A poignant epitaph to Arthur Miller’s genius, Two-Way Mirror is often attributed to his tumultuous relationship with Marilyn Monroe.

Actors Philip Cairns and Sarah Ovens are performing the intimate two-hander.

Cairns’ theatre credits include Villette at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and The Crucible at the Royal Lyceum, with Sarah Ovens having recently performed in The Magistrate at the National Theatre and Measure for Measure at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

They are directed by John Dove, who most recently directed Oscar winner Mark Rylance in Farinelli and the King in the West End.

Two-Way Mirror opens at Theatre by the Lake on Saturday March 18. For future shows and village dates, visit www.theatrebythelake.com