Theatre to offer free classes at new centre

A theatre has said it will reopen a former community centre to help give disadvantaged children, young people and adults access to the performing arts.

The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham has invested more than £300,000 so far to buy and refurbish the building in Grove Street, to make it a permanent base for the theatre's Education and Community Department.

From spring 2026, the theatre added, free and heavily-subsidised arts and culture projects such as youth choirs and family clubs will be offered at the venue.

Jessica Price, head of education and community at the Everyman, said she was "so, so excited" the theatre was expanding as it "simply ran out of space" to increase its outreach work.

"The Everyman Theatre is so well known locally but what, perhaps, isn't as well known is that we are a charity," she said.

"All of the money we make through our front of house and box office gets reinvested in the theatre and, importantly, our education and community outreach work."

The centre, when open, will host free or heavily subsidised arts and culture projects to "combat loneliness, foster social connections and improve wellbeing and mental health", it said.

Ms Price said although the Everyman Youth Theatre and community choirs are probably the theatre's "best known" outreach work, it also has sessions with primary school pupils and care home residents.

"We do work with those living with dementia within the community, we run arts awards - which are free qualifications that young people can do - and a whole range of community outreach projects with the National Star College, Gloucestershire Young Carers, and Cheltenham Open Door," she said.

"We work really extensively and collaboratively, and this building gives us the opportunity to do more of those and gives the team a real hub to base themselves out of."

It is planned for work to begin on the community centre in September.

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