The Programme

The team at TBTL celebrate their role as Cumbria’s producing theatre, and as a consequence, the programme of work has a theatre focus whilst also offering a range of cultural experiences.

We produce high quality and accessible theatre of popular appeal that gives our audiences a great night out. We are committed to making new plays and telling stories with particular resonance to our local communities, as we develop our place-based artistic vision. We curate a full and diverse programme of visiting work and festivals across both of our auditoria and we exhibit work in our gallery spaces. We are also proud to host a range of local community groups such as amateur theatre societies, Young Farmers and the Shakespeare Schools Festival.

We are passionate developing local talent and engaging with our local communities. In 2020 we launched ‘Cumbrian Creatives’ to find, develop and celebrate local talent. Through the network, we share local and national opportunities and promote our own activities which include social events, open auditions, skills workshops, scratch nights and micro-commissions. In recent years we have partnered with some of the most exciting and inclusive organisations to create opportunities for local people, including ETT, NT Connections, Graeae, Paines Plough and Prism Arts.