An historic Art Deco cinema has been drawing in the crowds since its restoration. Graham Young reports.
More than 50,000 customers have walked through the doors of an historic cinema in Worcestershire in just the first eight months after reopening.
The Regal Cinema is more than just a building with a screen – it’s a Grade II listed Art Deco picture palace which first opened in 1932.
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The transformation from being obsolete to wonderful is nothing short of a miracle and it has now been short-listed for a top heritage award.
It’s all thanks to local concert promoter and entrepreneur Patrick Wiper realising that its revival could boost the local community.
That was four years ago. Fast forward through “endless discussions” with potential partners and eventually there was enough funding in place to begin the £2 million project.
Backed by a mixture of Patrick’s own money, private investors and £500,000 worth of public support from bodies like Advantage West Midlands and The National Lottery and the Wipers were good to go.
The architects involved submitted plans for a nominal fee and 30 per cent of the building and restoration work was done by local tradesmen for free, so eager were they to restore the heart of their community.
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Patrick’s 26-year-old son, Laurence, is now the general manager of what he calls “a multifunctional building and programme”.
Today, the Regal lives up to its own name – and is a catalyst to revitalise the rows of shops on either side of Port Street near to the River Avon.
Its biggest hit this year has been The Exotic Marigold Hotel, with Laurence’s personal favourite being Marley, the Bob Marley documentary.
The current programme is already eclectic, with French art house film The Bird and Chilean documentary Nostalgia For the Light having screened earlier this month before Anna Karenina (12A) has taken centre stage this week.
And where else in the Midlands has there been a chance recently to see everything from children’s club films to F1 races and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original Total Recall?
Next summer work will begin to build two more screens on the top floor of the building, which will mean other events can be held while films are still being screened.
Currently there’s a lovely cafe bar overlooking Port St with excellent coffees, super paninis, magazine and books galore. The box office prints old fashioned tickets and there are licensed bars both upstairs (complete with art exhibitions) and downstairs (at the back of the cinema itself).
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The ground flour cinema has four moveable chairs per table, and many customers arrive half an hour before films start just to socialise with drinks. Upstairs are single seats, double love seats and, in each back corner, the ‘Royal Box’ seats.
The area in front of the screen can also be converted into a stage for acts ranging from Nicholas Parsons who is appearing next Saturday to a gig by Toploader on December 1 when the building’s capacity will instantly double to 600.
On October 20, the cinema will find out if it has won an English Heritage Angel Award, having made a four-strong nationwide shortlist in the miscellaneous ‘best rescue’ category.
The cinema’s submission says: “The building closed in 2003 and by the end of the decade it had deteriorated badly due to lack of essential maintenance and neglect of both the interior and exterior fabric.
“Art deco elements were at risk and subject to vandalism as a result of the building standing empty. Today, the wonderful Art Deco features dominate the auditorium ceiling and stage area and this much loved local cinema has reopened to local excitement and acclaim.”
The English Heritage Angel Awards are co-funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation:
* Regal Cinema, Port St, Evesham, WR11 3LD. Tel: 01386 421007. Web: Film prices: Adult tickets from £7-£10 depending on weekdays, off-peak nights, weekend nights (peak is Fri-Sun, after 5pm); children aged two+ are £5.