Theatre bythe Lake

Theatre by the Lake opened on the shore of Derwentwater in 1999, replacing the Century Theatre, a mobile venue known locally as the Blue Box that had toured to Keswick for over a decade. The building was funded through community fundraising and an Arts Council Lottery grant, and was opened by Dame Judi Dench. It is run by Cumbria Theatre Trust, a registered charity, and holds two performance spaces: a 400-seat Main House and a 100-seat Studio, staging a producing repertory season alongside touring shows and work developed with Cumbrian artists and young people. It remains a single, independent theatre rather than part of a national touring circuit, with its own resident production workshops supporting the two stages.