A record-breaking pantomime season at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre has delivered more than festive cheer, helping push the £1 million appeal for the new Everyman Education Centre at Grove Street to its halfway point.
The milestone has been achieved thanks to the 'generosity of audiences' attending the theatre’s 2025/26 pantomime, Robin Hood and His Merry Men, which closed earlier this month.
Running from November 2025 to January 2026, the festive production which starred Tweedy once again, was watched by more than 45,000 people, with many audience members hailing it as the Everyman’s best pantomime yet.
Beyond the applause, the production delivered a major boost to the theatre’s fundraising efforts. Pantomime audiences donated £20,000 to the new community centre, with a further £10,000 raised through the national Big Give Christmas Challenge and sale of merchandise, which means the theatre has now officially reached the halfway mark of its £1 million appeal.
Scheduled to open in the spring of 2026, the Everyman Education Centre at Grove Street will provide a permanent home for the theatre’s education and community programmes. The new centre is designed to support people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with the arts, improve wellbeing and build confidence through creativity.
Mark Goucher, CEO of the Everyman Theatre, said: 'The Grove Street Education Centre is the most important project the Everyman has undertaken since the theatre’s major refurbishment in 2010. Reaching the halfway point of our £1 million appeal is a significant moment and has only been possible thanks to the incredible support of our audiences this pantomime season.
'This new space will significantly increase access to the arts for young people and communities across Gloucestershire and we are asking for continued support from those who are able to help us bring this vital project to life.'
Phase Two of the redevelopment of the Grove Street building is now underway and Cinderella has been announced as the Everyman Theatre’s 2026/27 pantomime, with tickets now on sale.
For more information about the Everyman Theatre's Education Centre at Grove Street, visit everymantheatre.org.uk/grove-street-appeal/.
