The Roses has announced the appointment of the Olivier Award-winning Derek Bond as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Bond won the 2024 Olivier for Best Family Show for Dinosaur World Live, and will take up his new post formally on Mon 1 Sep. He has previously directed award-winning productions of plays and musicals across the UK and internationally, and has worked at the National Theatre and in London’s West End.

The Roses maintains a diverse programme of live theatre, touring productions, comedians and musicians, film and community work. It hosts north Gloucestershire’s only weekly stage-based youth theatre and is celebrating its fiftieth year in 2025.

Bond grew up in nearby Evesham, attending Prince Henry’s High School, where his love of drama was encouraged by his teachers. He remembers visiting the Roses several times as a schoolboy. “They were formative experiences,” he says, and is keen to ensure that the next generation of theatre fans have similar opportunities.

“I want every schoolchild in Tewkesbury, primary and secondary, to have the chance to come to our theatre,” he says. “Theatre-going should be a right, and we’re making the Roses the most welcoming space possible, so it takes its place at the heart of our community.”

Bond, who currently lives in nearby Stroud, believes that The Roses has an important part to play in the local economy, too.

“What our theatre – and culture in general – can do for a community is phenomenal,” he explains. “We bring people into towns for unique experiences. For every £1 spent on a ticket to a show, £1.40 is spent in the wider local economy."

“Theatre brings us into community with each other – and together we can make places like The Roses really special. We want to see more and more people come through our doors for the very first time.”

Bond hopes to add a community-facing family summer show to the Roses’ calendar, involving both professionals and local amateurs in producing a banner event for the town and region. He also plans to expand further the theatre’s youth offering, and continue to place focus on the theatre’s creative health work.

“The Roses is already a fantastic platform, thanks to my excellent predecessor Jess Brewster,” Bond says. “There is something for everybody here, a real resource and centre for an entire community.

“Theatres like the Roses help make life more vibrant in their towns and local areas. We all want to live in a town that is buzzing – and theatres provide that energy.”

As well as its many live performances, the theatre undertakes creative health work funded by the local NHS, hosts youth groups and community events, and produces an annual pantomime that has become a key fixture in north Gloucestershire’s entertainment calendar.

But The Roses presently receives no core funding from the local authority or Arts Council England, and sustains itself primarily on generated income. The current landscape for local theatre can be challenging.

“I see my role – and The Roses’ job as a whole – as being an ambassador, an advocate, even a beacon for the value of creativity in our local communities,” Bond says. “We have such energy and ambition here, it’s an exciting time!

“The Roses is a theatre for everybody with everybody. I can’t wait to get started – and hope everyone who shares our passion for community theatre feels likewise! If you want to see a more creative, joyous Tewkesbury, then come and join in!”