Malvern Theatres has built on its reputation for attracting the biggest names and the finest drama. In 1999 Richard Dreyfuss and Charlton Heston both performed in the Festival Theatre and in 2000 theatregoers have saw Leslie Nielsen and Donald Sutherland tread the boards. The drama festival too continued that year as The Royal National Theatre opened their new production of Hamlet with Simon Russell Beale in Malvern prior to an international tour and Sir Derek Jacobi headed an all-star cast in God Only Knows, a new play by Hugh Whitemore.

But although the refurbishment was completed on time and only around 5% over budget, trading was challenging in the years 1998-2003. One problem was that even the comparatively small overspend on the project proved difficult to pay off and left the theatres needing a cash injection in order to trade. Two solutions were proposed: a sale of the venue to the Ambassador Theatre Group and continuing independence for the Trust under the management of Nic Lloyd, with an ex-gratia payment from Malvern Hills District Council. The second solution was adopted after the Ambassador Theatre Group formally withdrew its bid in August 2002. Financial stability has seen the theatre go from strength to strength in the last five years. The programme is more diverse than at any time in the theatre's history and audience numbers have increased year-on-year.