The Pegasus, one of Oxford's most stalwart and adventurous theatres, has one year to find £1.7m or it loses the £4.6m already raised for its Building The Future redevelopment campaign.

So to get the fundraising ball rolling, a gala with a fantastic array of entertainment has been arranged on your behalf, and all you have to do is pop down this weekend, sit back and enjoy.

With puppetry, dance, music, stories, theatre and poetry on the programme, starting tonight, there is something for everyone from the 19 artists and companies performing over the two days.

Each evening will be different, although both start with a screening of a film made by Oxford Youth Theatre members and an introduction by Euton Daley (Pegasus' artistic director) and John Nicholson, former OYT member and founder of Peepolykus.

The chosen performers all have a long standing relationship with Pegasus and have been invited to celebrate and support the theatre by staging "something old, something new," enabling them to air a previous or new work.

Over the weekend performers will introduce two specially made pieces, two preview extracts of shows to be performed in full later in the year, the premiere performances of two new works and the showing of three works-in progress.

There will also be a pre-show and a post-show reception where audiences and artists can meet and chat, a raffle held over both nights with prizes including signed copies of Philip Pullman books, high tea at the Grand Café, a weekend at an Oxford hotel and assorted quality wines.

But how important is this weekend? Euton Daley says: "This weekend is significant for two reasons. Firstly it's pulling together all the artists we've been working with and developing through the years, together for the first time, alongside young people and community groups, so it is very important in that way.

"But we also hope that the gala serves to remind people of the ongoing need to raise funds to continue revitalising the space within the Pegasus and to highlight the importance of this factor, to keep it alive in people's memories."

The fundraising campaign aims to replace rapidly deteriorating facilities with a youth and performing arts centre for Pegasus.

If the final amount is not raised within the coming 12 months, the realisation of plans that have been developing for over 15 years will be in jeopardy. So what are you waiting for?

Something Old, Something New is on tonight and tomorrow at Pegasus. Box office on 01865 722851 or go to www.pegasustheatre.org.uk