21 May 2025
Imagine Theatre, one of the UK’s leading producers of family entertainment for over 25 years, marked a major milestone this week with the official opening celebration of its brand-new headquarters in Coventry. The event welcomed figures from across the pantomime and theatre industries to tour the impressive 68,000 sqft industrial space, now proudly named Trafalgar House.
The premises will serve as Imagine Theatre’s production base, central store, and creative hub. The move reflects the company’s significant growth and forms part of a wider strategic expansion within the Trafalgar Entertainment group.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by Rosemary Squire, and Helen Enright, Joint CEO and COFO of Trafalgar Entertainment, alongside Steve and Sarah Boden, Joint CEOs of Imagine Theatre.
Steve Boden said: “We are delighted to officially open Trafalgar House, an exciting milestone in our continued growth and expansion. We are proud to continue providing jobs and creative opportunities in Coventry, a city with a rich history of pantomime and we are honoured to carry that legacy forward. The West Midlands’ cultural sector supports over 24,000 full-time and freelance jobs and delivers an economic footprint of over £1.1 billion to the region. We are proud to be a small part of that story.”
Sarah Boden, Joint CEO, thanked those who have supported Imagine Theatre in reaching this exciting milestone and said: “To our incredible Head office team who work tirelessly day in day out to create magic, to Trafalgar Entertainment for believing in us, and to the venues and suppliers who support us every year- thank you. This new HQ is transformational for us. And finally, to our families. For three months of a year, we disappear into pantoland and they support us every step of the way. Our biggest thank you goes to them.”
Helen Enright, COFO of Trafalgar Entertainment added: “It’s so lovely to get everyone together to officially open Trafalgar House. It means so much to us to have this fantastic place as a Midlands hub for Trafalgar Entertainment and it creates huge opportunities and long-term benefits for the whole group.”
Rosemary Squire, Joint CEO of Trafalgar Entertainment, agreed: “Trafalgar House represents not just a space but a shared commitment to creativity, excellence, and growth. Coventry will now be at the very heart of our pantomime business and provide a central hub for all Trafalgar Entertainment shows.”
Guests were invited to explore the facility with guided tours through the setup including a prop making department, Wardrobe, Admin offices, meeting rooms, fitting rooms, Technical and set building spaces and the piece de resistance – an enormous warehouse.
With row upon row of over 25,000 sensational costumes, a ‘farmyard’ full of animals from giraffes to geese, a menagerie of mythical creatures including 6 dragons and 7 giants and a serpent head, 70 elaborate sets (with more than more 700 sparkling cloths) and over 15,000custom-built props from pumpkins and glass slippers to magic beans and oversized sausages! One attendee was overheard describing it as “a glittering, crazy Costco!”
Imagine Theatre, a carbon Neutral company, are innovative, award-winning theatre producers offering spectacular entertainment for the whole family across the UK. Their family friendly shows have won multiple awards and have been received by audiences of all ages with huge positivity and to great critical acclaim. In the last three years, Imagine Theatre have received over thirty nominations from the UK Pantomime Association Awards, winning seven, including awards for the Best Set and Best Pantomime over 900 seats. They were nominated for eleven awards across ten categories for the 2024/25 pantomime season.
Each year Imagine Theatre facilitate productions in many venues across the UK. This year, they are producing, co-producing or working in association with pantomimes in Carmarthen, Coventry, Crewe, Dartford, Fareham, Glasgow, Hertford, High Wycombe, Halifax, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Kirkcaldy, Leamington Spa, Llandudno, Leicester, Reading, Stafford, Swansea and Swindon. Additionally, they will provide sets and costumes and production infrastructure to many more productions including a brand-new production of Sleeping Beauty in Wolverhampton.
Photos: Nicola Young