The latest news from around the Group.

Eastbourne Theatres presents the annual COD Panto!

Eastbourne Theatres held its annual COD Panto earlier this month. The evening began with a special cast award ceremony hosted by Chris Jordan, followed by the Eastbourne Team’s very entertaining and funny adaption of this year’s critically-acclaimed panto Peter Pan. There were many twists and turns with some staff appearing as characters that were very hard to unsee – Jason as the mermaid springs to mind! 

Ryan and the COD cast worked tirelessly to provide this amazing evening of entertainment for the other venue staff, their families and friends, and often rehearsed into the early hours once the evening shows had finished.

The COD is a free event, but the team always choose a local charity to support through staff donations. This year’s charity recipient was Children with Cancer, who bring a large group of children to the panto every year and host an after show party in the Winter Garden. 

Donations received at this year’s COD raised a staggering £1,206.62 in just 15mins! A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the COD, and to everyone who donated so generously.

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30 Glorious Years for Simon in Southend

On 16 January, Simon Lilly celebrated 30 years at Southend Theatres. Theatre staff joined him for a surprise afternoon tea with a special cake made by Hannah Drake, the restaurant assistant manager.

Simon didn’t intend to stay for 30 years having begun as a porter at the Cliffs Pavilion and becoming Head Porter before deciding to take a Fine Art Degree at university.  Whilst at Uni, he carried on working at the Cliffs as a backstage catering assistant, then as a night porter before becoming a stage technician. During his time backstage a highlight was ‘performing’ in Fiddler On The Roof!

12 years ago, Simon became a maintenance technician, working across both venues, The Palace Theatre and Cliffs Pavilion. His favourite gig as a patron was Jamiroquai at the Cliffs, and his favourite show that he worked on was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which he says was a lot of fun.

Simon commented that 30 years had passed in a flash but that he had worked with truly great people.

Southend Theatres thanks Simon for all those years of work, his humour and enthusiasm. Here’s to the next 30….

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Event Cinema comes to Fareham

National Theatre Live bursts into Fareham Live Studio One with an electrifying season, starting with Hamlet in January 2026. Next up are The Fifth Step (February), The Audience (March), All My Sons (April) and The Playboy of the Western World (June), all bringing world-class theatre to Fareham’s screen!