The arts and culture scene in The Lake District, Cumbria is thriving, with many events taking place throughout the county year-round. Whether you want to enjoy a play, dance to live music, discover an art exhibition or visit a museum, there’s so much to experience in this vibrant part of the country.
If you’re a theatre enthusiast, you’ll find plenty to enjoy in the Lake District, Cumbria, with performances in some truly spectacular venues. How about catching a show next to a lake, or in a coastal town?
We often welcome touring productions including theatre and opera; while our independent cinemas also show live streams of performances taking place in world-class venues like the National Theatre.
If you’re a film buff, there are lots of fantastic cinemas showing the latest releases as well as art house classics. Did you know? The Lake District, Cumbria has featured in a number of films and TV shows like Star Wars and The Witcher!
Put on your dancing shoes and head out for an evening of live music – whether it’s a concert, a festival or an evening at the pub, there’s something to suit all tastes.
For a real celebration of our local culture, why not head for one of our vibrant festivals? The Winter Droving festival in Penrith is a colourful display held every October, complete with torchlit parade and a festive atmosphere. Meanwhile, museums hold regular events and exhibitions highlighting everything from art and film to our local history.
Search and view what's taking place below and let us introduce you to a world of theatre, music and the arts here in Cumbria.
A multimedia exhibition at the Dock Museum from 5th December to 23rd February exploring local…
As Rheged celebrates 25 years of culture, discover the work of 25 exceptional Cumbrian artists…
Discover life on Windermere through the lens of award-winning artist Juliet Klottrup. This…
SIGNAL proudly presents its first major group exhibition in their newly refurbished gallery spaces.…
Follow the Money is a musical comedy based on the memories of women who were the frontline…
This interactive exhibition celebrates the treasures of the Wordsworth Grasmere trove. Discover…
Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) is Hamlet in this fearless, contemporary take on…
Verbalise is one of Brewery Arts' most beloved community events, where emerging voices meet…
You may leave the Lake District, but once you’ve been, it’ll never leave you.

Number of results: 30
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Rayrigg Road, Windermere
Discover life on Windermere through the lens of award-winning artist Juliet Klottrup. This exhibition of paintings and photography celebrates the people, stories and heritage of Windermere — from boatbuilders and our conservation team to community…
Windermere Jetty Museum, Windermere
Penrith
As Rheged celebrates 25 years of culture, discover the work of 25 exceptional Cumbrian artists across a range of disciplines. From striking paintings and dynamic sculpture to powerful photography and mixed media, showcasing the talent, creativity,…
The Rheged Centre, Penrith
Barrow-in-Furness
A multimedia exhibition at the Dock Museum from 5th December to 23rd February exploring local stories of fragility & survival - of nature, of people - in South Cumbria. Through sound, film, images and words, an unseen, unheard world emerges. A world…
The Dock Museum, Barrow-in-Furness
Grasmere
This interactive exhibition celebrates the treasures of the Wordsworth Grasmere trove. Discover grand landscapes by Constable and Turner, a hasty sketch by Dorothy Wordsworth, dramatic watercolours and rarely displayed objects that spark wonder,…
Wordsworth Grasmere, Grasmere
102-104 Abbey Road, Barrow-in-Furness
SIGNAL proudly presents its first major group exhibition in their newly refurbished gallery spaces. Their ARTIST LAB EXHIBITION showcases bold new work shaped by landscape and protest from 14 emerging artists connected to Cumbria and the wider North…
Barrow-in-Furness
Follow the Money is a musical comedy based on the memories of women who were the frontline workforce of Barrow's banks.
The ladies who stamped the cheques, counted the cash and kept the wheels of industry turning from the 1960s to the 1990s…
122A Highgate, Kendal
Verbalise is one of Brewery Arts' most beloved community events, where emerging voices meet world-renowned artists on a shared stage. Join us either Live or Online, sign up and take part, or sit back and enjoy!
Local legend Ian Chapman is a regular…
Church St, Ambleside
Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) is Hamlet in this fearless, contemporary take on Shakespeare's famous tragedy.
Trapped between duty and doubt, surrounded by power and privilege, young Prince Hamlet dares to ask the ultimate…
122A Highgate, Kendal
David Benson burst onto the theatre scene in 1996, taking the Edinburgh Fringe by storm with Think No Evil Of Us: My Life with Kenneth Williams. Critics, audiences and close friends of Williams were unanimous in their praise.
Thirty years on, and…
Auctionmart Ln, Penrith
A 1920s comedy. Fallen Angels is a farcical romp of misunderstandings and hilarity between two good friends and an old lover.
Bowness-on-Windermere
It's a show that's more fun than a barrel of hobbits!
What happens when a cinema's Lord of the Rings marathon goes terribly wrong? At the local cinema, all hell breaks loose when the ushers misplace the DVDs of The Lord of the Rings trilogy – every…
122A Highgate, Kendal
This Anti-Valentines Verbalise Special features acclaimed poet, novelist and singer Rosie Garland of The March Violets. Rosie won the Mslexia Novel Competition with The Palace of Curiosities; her other novels are Vixen, The Night Brother and The…
Moresby, Whitehaven
Virginia Woolf defied literary conventions to depict rich inner worlds – her heightened, startling and poignant reality. Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor leads a luminous artistic team to evoke Woolf's signature stream of consciousness writing…
The Abbey, Carlisle
Our popular series of free Afternoon Recitals continues — we're delighted to welcome Hanna and Nathan to the Fratry Hall.
While entry to our concerts is complimentary, we encourage contributions during the collection at the end of each performance…
Bowness-on-Windermere
Fringe favourite Guy Masterson's globally acclaimed solo adaptation of George Orwell's barnyard masterpiece is now brought to life by riveting physical theatre performer, Sam Blythe. A timeless allegory that rings out a warning about politics,…
Bowness-on-Windermere
In this hysterical, deranged and irreverent Austen parody that meditates on girlhood, romance and everything in between, Lady Clementine has until her 27th birthday to find The One.
When her latest beau goes missing, she embarks on a hilariously…
Moresby, Whitehaven
Screening.
Returning to cinemas for the first time in over a decade, Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth II in the Olivier and Tony Award® -winning hit production, directed by Stephen Daldry.
For 60 years, Queen Elizabeth II met with each of her 12…
Barrow-in-Furness
A stunning piece of musical theatre which tells the real story of people who come to Barrow as refugees.
We all have ideas in our heads about who the migrants in Barrow are, how they got here and why they came.
For the past 18 months…
Moresby, Whitehaven
It's the nation's favourite game of murder, exile and increasingly ridiculous twists!
As the four finalists gather for one last chance to vote out the backstabbing Betray-tor hiding amongst them, a contestant is found dead having been literally…
Moresby, Whitehaven
The peasant girl Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. When she discovers that he is actually a nobleman promised to another, she kills herself in despair. Her spirit joins the Wilis: the vengeful ghosts of women hell-bent on killing any man who…
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