Voting has begun to find the UK's Most Welcoming Theatre 2017 and Theatre by the Lake at Keswick is in the running in the North West category.

The winners of this year’s award will be decided by a public vote between August 9 and noon on Tuesday 19 September 19, 2017. Votes can be cast at uktheatre.org/vote.

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This year there are more than 175 venues across the country competing to take home the coveted title. The 12 regional and national winners of the vote will be announced on September 29. The overall winner of the award will be announced at the UK Theatre Awards on Sunday, October 15.

This is an opportunity for audiences to celebrate their local theatre and all they do for their local communities.

Theatre by the Lake has won the award in the North West category three years in a row. The theatre’s 200-plus volunteers go the extra mile to give audiences a warm welcome, alongside the theatre’s staff - both customer facing and behind the scenes.

Artistic Director Conrad Lynch, who took over the helm from Ian Forrest and Patric Gilchrist in September 2016, said: "We are in the lovely position of having been voted the Most Welcoming Theatre in the North West for the last three years, and our warm Cumbrian welcome to both our local and visiting audiences is something we pride ourselves on and work hard to maintain.

"We are really happy to be nominated again for this award and would be so grateful if supporters of theatre could take two minutes to vote for us in this year’s awards – thank you!"

The UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide Awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievement in theatre throughout the United Kingdom, both on and off stage. This year's ceremony will again take place at London's historic Guildhall.

For more information on the UK Theatre Awards visit www.uktheatre.org/awards