Pavilion now operated by the Gorleston Pavilion Trust

After 3 decades of stewardship under Stuart Malkovich and Kevin Lynch, the Pavilion Theatre has just entered a new chapter as it moves into the hands of the registered charity "Gorleston Pavilion Trust", with new Chief Executive Alex Youngs at the helm.

Chief Executive of the Gorleston Pavilion Trust Alex Youngs

Since the devastating loss of Kevin Lynch in early 2023, Kevin's partner Stuart worked closely with the leadership of the trust and the Great Yarmouth Borough Council to move the theatre into the hands of the trust, ensuring that their decades of hard work and commitment would be continued and that the longevity of the theatre would be secured.

Alex Youngs has recently been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the trust and praised the lifetime of dedication that both Stuart and Kevin have shown to the theatre and to the community of Gorleston.

"I started volunteering at the theatre 27 years ago at the age of 11, not long after Stuart and Kevin had just taken over the theatre from previous lease holder Carl Adams. I think it's safe to say that both Stuart and Kevin completely revitalised the building and put themselves firmly at the heart of the community here in Gorleston."

"It has been an absolute joy and privilege to have spent the last 27 years working alongside them in one way or another. We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude for committing themselves fully to making this part of the world a better place and I hope that we can do their legacy justice by continuing their work."

The Trust has now started work on a feasibility study that will pave the way to an ambitious multi-million pound Heritage Lottery bid which will transform the Pavilion and surrounding areas in order to secure it's future for decades to come.

Of the plans, Alex said "Stuart and Kevin have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds into the building over the last three decades, but because of it's age it needs ten times that amount in order to reverse some of its ongoing decline and deliver on our objectives. We have very ambitious plans for the revitalisation of the theatre's facilities and spaces that will hopefully make it a nationally recognised centre of excellence for performing arts as well as a thriving community hub."

One of the first changes to be made is that the Pavilion is now open 7 days a week from 10am-3pm and the team are also excited to be offering some new programming in the coming months.

"We're extraordinarily lucky to have this building on our doorstep and feel very honoured to be the new custodians and writing an exciting chapter in it's 123 year history, that starts with making sure the building is much more open than it has ever been".

In celebration of this new chapter in the Pavilion's history, new Alex is also taking on a series of challenges throughout April to raise vital funds for the theatre's refreshed plans and is encouraging the theatre's followers to do the same. Having run the London Marathon and raised over £3,000 for the theatre back in 2019, he is no stranger to fundraising challenges.

"What better way to kick things off than to face 30 challenges in 30 days to raise some vital funds for this wonderful place. It's something that we can all do together as a community, so I'm encouraging everyone to pick at least one challenge to give themselves to complete over the next 30 days along with me and hopefully raise a little bit of money for our cause."

Donations for Alex's fundraiser (or ideas for challenges that he can complete!) can be made on his fundraising page at pavtheatre.com/challengealex where you can also find updates on his progress.