The Everyman Theatre’s £1m Grove Street Appeal to develop a new creative arts hub called the Everyman Education Centre has been boosted by a grant of over £200,000 from The Summerfield Charitable Trust. The donation will fund the building of a ground-floor workshop space at the new centre, which was formerly a community centre in Grove Street, Cheltenham. The workshop in the new centre will be named ‘The Summerfield Room’.
Mark Goucher, CEO, Everyman Theatre, commented:
“On behalf of The Everyman Theatre, I want to express our gratitude to The Summerfield Charitable Trust for this extraordinarily generous grant. The Everyman Education Centre will be truly transformative. It will open doors for young people and less advantaged communities, giving them the chance to experience the arts, discover their voices and build confidence that lasts a lifetime.
“Thanks to the Trust’s support, we are now well on our way to raising the £1 million needed to fully refurbish the Grove Street building, and we are proud to name the largest of our workshop spaces in honour of The Summerfield Trust. This contribution means so much to the theatre, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to the entire Summerfield board for their vision and generosity.”
The £1 million Grove Street Appeal to create a new creative arts hub was launched in September 2025.
The Everyman Education Centre is an extension of the work already done by the Everyman’s Education and Community team, who work with over 22,000 people a year on a range of initiatives which help to improve mental health and wellbeing.
The new centre will offer a vibrant and welcoming space for the whole community to enjoy, with everything from youth theatre and choirs to dancing and creative workshops. The centre will have a particular focus on engaging less advantaged children, young people and adults. It will also offer free or heavily subsidised creative projects to help combat loneliness and foster social networks.
David Owen, Chair of The Summerfield Charitable Trust’s Trustees commented:
“We are proud to be supporting the Everyman Theatre Grove Street Appeal with this grant, because it represents exactly the kind of long-term, community-led investment we believe in. This project is about far more than a building; it is about creating a welcoming, accessible space where people of all ages and backgrounds can take part in arts and culture, often for the first time.
“The new education and community centre will help break down the very real barriers that prevent many people from engaging with the arts, whether social, financial or geographic, and will expand work that already reaches tens of thousands of people each year.
“By backing this project, we are investing in confidence, wellbeing and opportunity, particularly for those communities who need it most. We believe this will be a transformative asset for Gloucestershire, helping to ensure that creativity is not something people feel is ‘for others’, but something that belongs to everyone”.
Francesca Goddard, Individual Giving & Corporate Partnership Manager for the Everyman Theatre, commented.
“We are thrilled to be approaching the final stages of the centre’s development, and this grant brings us significantly closer to our fundraising goal. There is still some way to go though and every contribution matters. To support this final push, we are hosting a Charity Fundraising Gala at the theatre on April 27th with Sir Derek Jacobi. After core costs, all proceeds will go directly towards the creation of our new centre. Tickets start from just £40 and the evening promises not only to support our vital work offstage but also to offer a sparkling journey through the extraordinary, decades-long career of one of our greatest theatrical legends.”
Tickets for the Charity Fundraising Gala on April 27th are available from the Everyman Box Office on 01242 572573 or online here.
The Summerfield Charitable Trust is encouraging others to follow their lead and support the new centre. For more information on the new Everyman Education Centre or to donate, visit their website here.