Community Tour

Case study: Taking Theatre Across Cumbria 

At Theatre by the Lake, we believe great theatre shouldn’t stop at the stage in Keswick, it should reach people everywhere in Cumbria. Thanks to the generosity of our members and supporters, that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

With your help, we’ve been able to take our productions out on the road, bringing professional performances to community venues from Millom to Carlisle, and from Grasmere to Egremont.  

Our recent tours of Every Brilliant Thing and Steel have played to packed houses in village halls, arts centres and youth spaces – places where audiences don’t always get the chance to see live, professional theatre. 

We plan our tours carefully with partner venues to ensure we are reaching areas where communities face barriers to accessing the arts and where are productions speak to the audience and their lived experiences. 

You can read more about our community touring in our Steel and Every Brilliant Thing reports, however, the response has been incredible. Sue McKay, Director of Florence Arts, told us: 

“It was wonderful for a small venue like ours to welcome a full, professionally produced performance… the audience were thrilled and the tickets sold out well in advance.” 

Adapting our shows to fit community spaces is challenging but important work and helps us share stories that reflect life here in Cumbria, far and wide.