After rejection from several repertory theatre companies, Lancashire was given her first acting role by Howard Lloyd-Lewis, artistic director of the Manchester Library Theatre Company, which provided her with an Equity Card. Lancashire performed two plays with the company, "Pacific Overtures" and "The Beauty Game", which she states formed "the start of my career as an actor". She found her first professional acting experience "terrifying" as a result of the live audiences, recalling that, "because I wore a bathing costume in some of the scenes, I got heckled!" She also realised that taking risks or underperforming could have had consequences for her acting career. Her role as Denise in "The Beauty Game" earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards.