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REGAL CINEMA - Lights, camera, action…
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| The Regal - Now |
Like a scene from its very own disaster movie just after 7pm on a summer evening last July, the Regal picture house in Tenbury Wells found itself left with a distinctly sinking feeling as horrendous rain submerged the auditorium under 4ft of water, causing extensive damage to the popular haunt used by dedicated film-goers since the 1930s.
Made worse by water mixing with fuel oil leaking from the heating system sparking fears of an explosion, nothing could have prepared staff and customers for the infamous floods, which began as a mere drizzle and ended up devastating the classic art deco cinema that a host of volunteers led by Ben Bydawell, had previously spent months restoring.
"We had shown three films and were about to show a fourth when the cinema flooded - we had a season of a further eight films booked which all had to be cancelled." Ben explained.
The floods cut short the start of the new enterprise and the old building suffered considerable damage just a week before celebrations for its Seventieth Anniversary. Red seats sat marooned in muddy water and the piano used to accompany silent films, floated miserably in a sea of slush that lapped around its feet. In just a staggering forty minutes visitors were forced to ask "would this be the final curtain for The Regal?"
Thankfully, due to the dedication of the volunteers who had already worked so hard to make the venue something Tenbury Wells could be proud of and were not willing to give up without a fight, the answer was a resounding "no," and seven months on, the unique Regal Cinema now boasts colourful Mediterranean murals on its walls, has a new floor, new carpets, new seats and a new screen. New timbers have been laid, damaged plasterwork is fixed and good as new and the cinema is now set to take its rightful place centre stage at a popular film festival later this month. Running from March 28 until April 13 the Borderlines Film Festival - a version of Cannes- will turn the spotlight on Tenbury, boasting cider and crisps instead of the usual champagne, taking films out into the heart of the community and reflecting the hard work of Ben and his team.
Thanks to such amazing community spirit and dedication the following films will now be shown at the Regal Cinema in the near future:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Sweeny Todd, There will be Blood, The Kite Runner, Juno and The Assassination of the Outlaw Jesse James
The Borderlines Film Festival.
The Lives of Others Friday 11th April at 8:00pm
Subtitled German Film winner of 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film
Enchanted Saturday 12th April at 2:30pm
A classic Disney fairytale; Giselle, an archetypal Disney Princess is forced from her 2D-animated world of Andalasia into real-life New York
Buster Keaton Comedy Double Bill with Piano Accompaniment
Sherlock Junior (1924) Saturday 12th April at 7:30pm
Buster plays a hapless cinema projectionist who yearns to be a detective
One Week (1920) Saturday 12th April at 7:30pm
Two newlyweds receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "one week." A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates.
Gone to Earth (1950) Sunday 13th April at 4:30pm
Staring Jennifer Jones as a beautiful but innocent country girl who loves all the creatures around her, especially her pet fox cub, but her beauty attracts the interest of the local squire.
Filmed on location, in and around Shropshire. Many local people were recruited as extras. Jennifer Jones and her costar David Farrar stayed at the Swan Hotel Tenbury Wells during filming and The Regal Cinema was used at night for viewing the rushes.
Atonement (2007) Sunday 13th April at 7:30pm
Starring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, a stirring love story set during the second World War and based on the best selling novel by Ian McEwan. At the British Academy Film Awards, it was awarded Best Film and Best Production Design and at the Oscars, Best Film. One of the principal locations was Stokesay Court.
12:54pm Thursday 3rd April 2008
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