Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury ‘has bright future’ thanks to £1m revamp
Basepoint Tewkesbury has long been a business sponsor supporter of the Roses Theatre. Bosses at The Roses say it has a bright future with visitor numbers up after its £1million revamp a year ago. The venue in Sun Street, Tewkesbury, underwent a major overhaul and officials say it has paid off.Head of marketing Caroline Lawrence said: "A whole year on, final small adjustments are still being made, but the newly refurbished building, with all of its new facilities, has firmly established itself as one of the most vital organisations in Tewkesbury.
"Since reopening, audiences have been wowed by the difference. Last year's pantomime, Cinderella, broke box office records. This year's, Robin Hood & the Babes in the Wood, which runs from Saturday December 3, is a staggering 22 per cent ahead of Cinderella's sales at this point last year.
"The numbers speak for themselves – people are coming back, they are coming more often, and they are telling their friends to do the same."
She said businesses were queuing up to align themselves with the theatre and support its charity work, which included helping young people with a mental illness, victims of domestic abuse and those facing isolation.
The youth theatre has been so successful that it has just taken its own production, Anonymous, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as taking part in the National Theatre's Connections Festival for the second year running last March.
Thoughts are turning to the next phase of redevelopment, in which the theatre team hope to build a secondary performance studio in the form of an extension, as well as refurbish the backstage area and make it fully accessible for disabled performers.
It is hoped that the new studio will provide a space not only to offer a wider artistic programme of events and a second film screen, but also to enable artists to research and develop their work.
The Roses recently co-produced the circus dance piece Ceirw – A Savage Hart, with Welsh theatre company Citrus Arts, and hopes to engage in many similar collaborations in the future.
Caroline added: "The success of the 2015 refurbishment has paved the way for even greater future plans, and all here are optimistic of the brightest of futures for The Roses."