Ipswich Regent Theatre reborn

By Andrew Clarke

It's the largest seated theatre in East Anglia and the Ipswich Regent has never looked - or felt better. With several gallons of new paint carefully splashed around and all-new seating especially designed for the venue, it now feels and looks like a top flight venue for the 21st century.

The Regent's new classy colour scheme is varying shades of blue an blue/grey which is contrasted with some gold painted plaster moulding and the plush deep red of the seats. The transformation from its old mud brown colouration into this new colour scheme is startling - particularly when you look back from the stage and out into the auditorium.

It's a space which is at once both large enough to create a vibrant atmosphere for a concert and yet intimate enough for a performer to make contact with everyone in the audience.

David Mansfield from The Regent, who conducted me on my tour, said: “It's been a hectic 13 week project which has cost half a million pounds - but everyone recognises that this is money well spent and it's a job that desperately needed doing if the theatre was to have any future as a popular entertainment venue.

“It was clear on the run-up to the restoration project that everyone recognised that the Regent needed a lot of work doing to it. It hadn't been touched really since the last major refurbishment in 1965 and the seats had been looked at since they were first installed.

“The seats needed to be replaced as a matter of urgency. They were 78 years old and were falling to pieces.”

He said that the new seats, new lighting and the new colour scheme had completely changed the atmosphere in the auditorium - giving it a much warmer, more friendly - much more intimate feel.

“Theatre's are special places and you go into a theatre and each one has its own special atmosphere about them. I think The Regent felt a bit unloved - now we think the people of Ipswich and indeed audiences from all over East Anglia will take it to their hearts again.”

He said that during the restoration process they found old tickets stuffed into seats, coke bottles tucked away in little cubby holes and even a set of architects plans which had been plastered into a recess. “When you find things like that it really does bring it home that this is a theatre that has been here for as long as most people can remember.”

He said that when The Regent was opened in 1929, it was an opulent palace - it was decorated to emulate the chic-est London hotels. It was the embodiment of luxury. Inside the foyer and around the auditorium it had the look of first class accommodation on a cruise liner.

The look was very Art-Deco - complete with a homage to classic Greek design which was picked up in the plaster work that was applied throughout the building. The period look has been enhanced during restoration work by the replacement of the doors which lead into the main auditorium and the classical plaster work in the inner foyer.

Hazel Clover, the current Regent manager, said that a lot of time and trouble had gone into getting the restoration right. The process was helped when they found some of the original paint work in the circle bar and this informed the new colour scheme. As a result the theatre has been restored, with advice from English Heritage, to look very much the way it would have been when it first opened.

She said that one of the wonderful finds connected with the restoration was the donation to the theatre of a programme from the original opening ceremony which led them to contact the original company who did the plaster work who still held the moulds in their archive.

“They came in and assessed the plaster work and declared that they were still in first class condition. Because they are up high on the ceiling and on the walls they have been untouched for years and are still in excellent shape. They didn't need to do any restoration work on them at all. All we did was give them a new coat of paint.”

She said that when The Regent first opened its doors at 7pm on November 4 1929 nearly 2,000 people crowded into the venue to get a first-hand glimpse of this exciting new addition to the Ipswich landscape.

“It was originally designed as a cine-variety hall - a cross between a cinema and a music hall/theatre and it remained as a dual use building for much of its life.”

Hazel said that they hoped that more than 2,000 people would visit the theatre this time when they held their open day on Saturday September 15 - a free event which would allow local people to explore the theatre, see the new auditorium as well as explore backstage.

“I think that people will be amazed at just how different the theatre looks. The whole feel of the theatre is different. It is now very much a theatre for the 21st century.”

She said that when the theatre opened there was much press attention given to the fact that they were one of the first theatre's in the country to have the electric torches. “It was cutting-edge technology at the time and it is fitting that as part of our new restoration project we are using cutting edge technology of our own to replace our aging house lights.”

She said that they have dispensed with all the conventional light bulbs in the auditorium and have replaced them with a new LED fibre-optic lighting system which will increase illumination while keeping a sense of atmosphere - allowing audiences to read programmes before the performance.

“The control we have is amazing. There are 16-and-a half million colour combinations we can use. We have illuminate some areas and not others and we can wash the dome over the auditorium in a dazzling array of colours. It gives us efficiency and control as well as reducing the cost and our carbon footprint as it will significantly reduce our electricity usage.”

The first public performance in 1929 was a screening of the film The Last of Mrs Cheyney - an 'all-talking' picture - starring Norma Shearer and Basil Rathbone. In 2007, it is Ipswich favourite Daniel O'Donnell who will be christening the updated venue with two sold out performances on September 17-18.

Although the Regent was first and foremost a cinema for many years, there was always room for music. During the period prior to World War II the stage was not used to any great extent, although up to the mid-1930's, the 18 piece Regent Orchestra, under the direction of Louis Baxter frequently entertained the audiences. Most theatre orchestras were disbanded in the late 1930's and the organ then became the main musical attraction.

During the Second World War the Regent played its part in providing much needed escapism and helped to sustain public morale. After the war, The Regent flourished and enjoyed an attendance boom. Also during this period, the stage was employed in the presentation of Ipswich Civic Concerts - previously held at the Public Hall that was gutted by fire. The stage was also used for the presentation of Sadler's Wells Ballet, Carl Rosa Opera and one-night band shows.

The advent of television in the 1950's proved a testing time for cinemas up and down the country and even the highly successful Regent, by now known as the Gaumont, did not survive intact. To allow the cinema to become more profitable, the restaurant was closed down and replaced by the Victor Sylvester Dance Studio.

In the late 1950's the 'pop' music phenomenon exploded. Buddy Holly and the Crickets started off the craze at the Gaumont and since then thousands of international artists have graced the theatre's stage including the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard Tina Turner, Tom Jones, Chris Rea, Status Quo - many, many teen bands and during the 1970s country and western stars.

It was in 1958 that David Lowe - the theatre's longest serving manager arrived. A showman down to his fingertips he became a familiar figure to cinema and theatregoers greeting both audiences and visiting stars.

With David's arrival local musicians and dramatic societies were encouraged to perform at East Anglia's largest theatre. These included the Ipswich Operatic Society, the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and later the Co-op Juniors. The programme still includes a wide range of productions including professional touring theatre, opera, ballet, comedy and even full-scale orchestras.

David Mansfield said: “We stage some very big shows here - big musicals, touring productions like Tonight's The Night, Grease as well as big name music acts and opera companies with big orchestras and spectacular staging. Where else would you see these names? Ellen Kent Productions certainly give you your monies worth - it's a full orchestra, it's a large cast and the only alternative for local people to see opera or ballet to that standard is to go to London, so The Regent fulfils a very important role.”

The Regent became a council-run venue when Ipswich Borough negotiated the ownership of the theatre from the Rank Organisation.

Arts and leisure portfolio holder Judy Terry said that she was delighted with the finished result. “It looks wonderful. It had become very tatty looking over the years and now it's quite spectacular. I always think that there's quite a romantic feel about theatres and there is certainly an element of romance about the way The Regent looks now.

“With the new seats and the restored look of the theatre it will give audiences a much more pleasant evening out. Audiences have increased by nearly 78,000 over the last three years and we hope that will continue. The Regent now has a regenerated feel about it and its something to treasure.”

The Regent Theatre open day is on Saturday September 15.