THE Everyman theatre in Cheltenham looks set to raise more than £4,000 for the Indian Ocean Disaster Appeal after tickets for its charity performance of Sleeping Beauty tonight sold out in a record time of seven hours.

The theatre announced the decision to hold an extra performance of the pantomime, and donate all proceeds to the appeal at 10am on Thursday morning and by 5pm every one of the £5 tickets had been taken.

"To say we've been bowled over by the public's response is an understatement," said chief executive Philip Bernays. "It's even more remarkable considering that during the day the only way we had publicised it was on our website, through emailing customers and colleagues, and through some of our local radio stations."

As well as all the proceeds from ticket sales, the theatre will give proceeds from all bar sales during the performance, and all staff will be working for free during the evening and their wages donated to the total.