Investment from
£14,995
Category
Children Franchises
Established
2014
About This Franchise
Big Mouth Theatre is a multi-award-winning children's drama franchise established in 2014, delivering inclusive, non-competitive after-school clubs, weekend workshops and holiday camps for children under 16. Recognised as Family Business of the Year at the Club Hub Awards, the brand is built around creativity, confidence and community impact, offering franchisees a purpose-led business in one of the most resilient children's enrichment categories.
A detailed look at the Big Mouth Theatre Franchise franchise opportunity, what's involved and what makes it stand out.
Big Mouth Theatre is a multi-award-winning children's drama franchise that has been empowering young performers across the South of England since 2013. Built around a deliberately non-competitive philosophy, the brand runs after-school clubs, Saturday workshops and holiday camps that help children under 16 build confidence, express themselves and make friends - all without the toxic audition culture that often turns kids away from drama.
In 2025 the brand was named Family Business of the Year at the Club Hub Awards, chosen from 350 applications. Now, after more than a decade of refining the model, Big Mouth Theatre is opening to franchise partners who want to run a genuinely purposeful business in their local community.
Unlike many children's activity franchises that rely on a single programme, Big Mouth Theatre spans three complementary offerings - giving you multiple revenue streams across weekdays, weekends and school holidays.
Founders Adrian & Holly Adrian and Holly founded Big Mouth Theatre after contemplating their future while travelling in Brisbane, Australia. Their own childhood experiences of competitive, pressured drama environments motivated them to build something better - a drama programme where every child is valued, every part is shared, and no one is cast as second best. The first club launched at a village school in the New Forest in February 2013.
Beyond the franchise fee, franchisees should allow working capital for staff hiring, venue leasing, insurance and early-stage marketing. Bank funding is typically available because established franchise brands are considered lower-risk propositions.
Big Mouth Theatre is ideal for people who want to run a purposeful business alongside their values. It suits former teachers, drama-trained professionals, career-changers with children of their own, or anyone passionate about children's wellbeing who wants the structure of a proven business model rather than starting from scratch. No prior drama qualifications are needed - the team trains you and helps you recruit qualified drama leaders.
Holly Clarkson and Adrian Woolner sketched out Big Mouth Theatre on a Brisbane beach, drawing on their work across drama, education and personal coaching. They returned home, leaned on the Prince's Trust Enterprise Programme for early support, and opened their first after-school club at a New Forest village school in February 2013. Word travelled quickly across the local parent network and additional schools filled within weeks.
By 2014 the model had grown into the Saturday Theatre Programme, where children write, rehearse and stage their own productions with every role shared fairly. A second territory opened in Eastleigh in 2015, and the team navigated the pandemic by moving training online and adding business coaching to its operator support. The 2025 Family Business of the Year win at the Club Hub Awards, chosen from 350 applicants, marked the point at which the founders felt the model was robust enough to license.
You do not need a drama background to run a Big Mouth Theatre franchise. The founders built an onboarding programme that assumes you bring business energy and community ambition, then layers on the brand's pedagogy and operating system. Training covers session planning, child safeguarding, parent communication, recruiting drama leaders, school relationship building, holiday camp logistics and the in-house bookings app. Founder mentoring continues well past launch.
The most efficient marketing channel in children's enrichment is the school itself. Big Mouth Theatre's growth strategy is built on partnering directly with primary schools across your exclusive territory, which means the school becomes both your venue and your distribution channel. Parents receive trusted recommendations through the school's communications, and the brand's national website, social channels and PR sit on top to drive Saturday workshop and holiday camp bookings. Head office supports launch marketing with templated flyers, social assets, parent evening collateral and a launch playbook that has been refined across the company-owned territories.
A franchisee's week follows the school rhythm. Mornings cover school outreach calls, drama leader management, social posting and term-ahead planning. After-school clubs run roughly 3pm to 5pm at one or two schools a day, delivered by your trained drama leaders while you sit alongside as quality lead. Saturdays are workshop days, and school holidays compress into intense multi-day camps that are typically the strongest revenue weeks of the year. It is a portfolio rhythm rather than a nine-to-five, which suits parents and career-changers seeking flexibility around their own families.
Children's drama sits inside the broader UK enrichment sector, which has just been given a structural tailwind. The Department for Education has announced new enrichment benchmarks across five categories including arts and culture, with Ofsted set to consider how schools meet that expectation during routine inspections. School profiles capturing each school's enrichment offer are being piloted now and roll out fully in 2026/27. For franchisees, this matters in two practical ways: schools have a fresh institutional reason to bring in trusted external arts providers, and parents will increasingly see enrichment access reported alongside academic outcomes.
The strongest Big Mouth Theatre franchisees light up around children and have the patience to run a values-led operation week after week. That often means former teachers, teaching assistants or drama practitioners, but it also includes parents wanting school-hours-friendly work, career-changers seeking purpose alongside profit, and existing children's activity operators adding a creative arts strand. What unites them is the appetite to act as a visible, community-facing leader. If you would happily stand in a school hall on a wet Tuesday watching seven-year-olds invent a new ending to their show, you are likely to thrive.
Request the full franchise prospectus to learn about available territories, detailed financials and the onboarding process.
Interested in exploring more opportunities in this sector? Take a look at other Children franchise opportunities available on Franchise Hunt.
See where this franchise sits compared to others on Franchise Hunt
Cheaper than
74%
£15k
Under £20k
Franchises Like This
Children Franchises
Monkey Music is the UK's leading pre-school music education franchise, founded in 1993 by CEO Angie Coates. Offering age-specific weekly classes for babies and children aged three months to four years, the franchise has delivered over 4.8 million classes nationwide. With around 50 franchisees, a BFA Franchisor of the Year Bronze award and a 25-year track record, it offers a flexible, fulfilling opportunity for those passionate about early childhood development.
Sports Franchises
Little Kickers is the world's leading pre-school football franchise, founded in London in 2002 by Christine Kelly and operating in 26 countries with 320+ franchises and around 80,000 children attending sessions every week globally. The brand delivers fun, curriculum-linked football classes for children aged 18 months to seven years, combining FA-qualified coaching with early years learning principles. Family-friendly, flexible and community-focused, it is a rewarding business with proven global scale.
Children Franchises
Stagecoach Performing Arts is the UK's largest network of part-time performing arts schools, founded in 1988 and operating in nine countries worldwide. With more than 700 schools globally and 55,000 students attending weekly, the Stagecoach Franchise offers an established management business model for those passionate about enriching children's lives through singing, dance and drama.
Children Franchises
Fun Fest Holiday Club is a BFA-member, award-winning children's holiday childcare franchise launched nationally in 2017. Founded by Tina Boden in Solihull, the brand operates over 40 clubs across the country, delivering child-led activity programmes to children aged three to twelve during school holidays. Ranked in the Elite Franchise Top 100 for six years running and Ofsted registered, Fun Fest offers a flexible, scalable franchise with genuine six-figure income potential for multi-club operators.
To find out more about the Big Mouth Theatre Franchise franchise opportunity, simply click below to fill out the form to speak with a representative from the brand.
Request Free Information Today
The minimum investment for a Big Mouth Theatre Franchise franchise starts from £14,995. This typically covers the franchise fee, training, and initial setup. Additional costs such as premises, equipment, and working capital may apply.
Yes, Big Mouth Theatre Franchise provides training for new franchisees. This typically covers operations, business management, marketing, and ongoing support to help you get started and grow your franchise.
Big Mouth Theatre Franchise offers third party financing options to help prospective franchisees fund their investment. Contact the franchise directly for details on available funding support.
Big Mouth Theatre Franchise was established in 2014. With 12 years of experience, the brand has built a track record in the UK franchise market.
Big Mouth Theatre Franchise currently has 2 franchise outlets operating across the UK, demonstrating network coverage and brand presence.
Big Mouth Theatre Franchise franchise opportunities are available across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Contact the franchisor through the enquiry form to confirm specific territory availability in your area.
