The Watford Fringe Festival is back in 2026 to celebrate its 10th anniversary, bringing you the best of festival entertainment right on your doorstep.
Every year the festival hosts high quality national and international Fringe acts for local audiences to enjoy alongside supporting the best of local talent to develop and perform their shows.
From starting out as a small-scale weekend of performances, it has now grown to become a regular fixture in the local cultural calendar with shows taking place throughout the whole of July. Venues right across Watford now host an extraordinary live line-up of great theatre, music, comedy, dance, magic and family fun-filled shows.
2025’s festival was a record-breaking year with 136 live shows in 21 performance spaces and more than 5,000 tickets sold. There was everything from pre-Edinburgh Fringe shows to a band hot off their set at Glastonbury, a musician who appeared on the recent series of Channel Four’s The Piano, the man who ‘discovered’ Wham!,...
We’re delighted to announce that our new café – Tina Lake’s Coffee and Cakes – is now open every day, apart from Sundays.
The new opening times are:
1-5pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 2-9pm on Tuesdays; 2-6pm on Saturdays; closed on Sundays.
So why not pop along to the Charles Room and enjoy our vibrant and inclusive creative space that you can enjoy over a coffee and cake. As well as tasty refreshments and friendly volunteers ready to chat, you can also take in the current art exhibition on display in our dedicated gallery.
The new venture has been set up thanks to a community grant from Watford Borough Council and is run by volunteers from the Pump House and Proud Watford.
The café has been named after Tina Lake, the drag queen persona of Bryan Timberlake, who at 92-years-old is the UK’s longest serving drag performer.
For more information about booking the café space for an activity, getting your artwork exhibited or to volunteer...
As we come to the end of another busy year, we’re sorry to be saying goodbye to two stalwart supporters of the Pump House.
Thank you Sharon
As some may be aware, Sharon Gaffney has been involved with the Pump House Theatre and Arts Trust for more than 10 years in a development role. In that time she has built a wide range of partnerships, secured many new funds, helped to start and establish the Watford Fringe Festival, supported the start of Proud Watford, brought in new groups and events and much more.
Sharon moved to Norfolk a few years ago. In recent times it has been getting harder for her to be in Watford enough to support the Pump House so she has made the difficult but understandable decision to stop her formal role at the end of the 2025.
Sharon has provided a significant contribution to building the Pump House operation over the last 10 years, to the strong and stable organisation it is today, which we are all very grateful for. While of...
Calling all artists! Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, we invite you to take part in a vibrant celebration of creativity, nature, and community at the ‘River Colne Art Exhibition’, launching this March.
This month-long exhibition in the Pump House’s Charles Room showcases artwork inspired by the River Colne, its wildlife, history, personal memories, and environmental importance. We welcome submissions in any medium: painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, and more. Whether your piece is newly created or something you’ve made before, we’d love to see it.
Key datesArtwork drop-Off: From mid-March 2026
Exhibition Launch & Open Evening: Tuesday 17 March 2026
Viewing Times: Tuesdays: 5pm – 9pm, Fridays: 1pm – 5pm and Saturdays: 1:30pm – 5:30pm (When Tina’s Cafe is open).
Why get involved?
This is more than an art show, it’s a chance to reflect on the River Colne’s role in our lives and its future. The exhibition encourages...
☕🍰🎨 ‘Tina Lake’s Coffee & Cakes’ is a new café and art exhibition space, now open at the Watford Pump House. ☕🍰🎨
The new venture is designed to create a vibrant and inclusive creative space that people can enjoy over a coffee and cake. It has been set up thanks to a community grant from Watford Borough Council and is run by volunteers from the Pump House and Proud Watford. It is open on Tuesdays from 5-9pm, Fridays from 1-5pm and Saturdays from 1.30-5.30pm.
Lee Farman, chair of the Watford Pump House, said: “We’re delighted to be opening this new café and art exhibition space. We really hope it develops into a much-loved community meeting place, that brings people together to be creative. We want it to be as easy as possible for people to use the space whether that’s to run a board game night, host a spoken word performance or some other creative session. So please get in touch with your ideas.”
The cafe has been named after Tina Lake, the drag queen persona of Bryan Timberlake,...
