Film will mark the Regal's birthday (From Cotswold Journal)

Film will mark the Regal's birthday

8:40am Sunday 20th May 2012 in News

A SPECIALLY made commemorative film is being produced to mark the 80th anniversary of Evesham’s Regal Cinema later this year.

The unique film will feature footage and pictures of the Regal from its opening on October 10, 1932, right up to the present day. The Port Street venue has been attracting thousands of visitors since January when its long-awaited re-opening took place.

It will also include interviews with the various significant figures in the Regal’s long and colourful history including some who were there on opening night.

Owner Ian Wiper said it would be a fascinating watch and a great way to mark the cinema’s 80th birthday.

“This will piece together the history of the Regal and all the great stories it has to tell,” he said.

“The interviews with the teams which have run it then and now will be fantastic and I’m sure it will be a very interesting spectacle.

“The 80th anniversary is a very big occasion for us and we intend to make it a memorable celebration.

“It is amazing that people who were there at the opening are still coming into the cinema now.”

The film will be shown on Saturday and Sunday, October 13 and 14, and Evesham old boy Alistair McGowan will also be part of the festivities.

The impressionist and actor will be returning to his roots for two performances over the weekend.

Mr McGowan, who is the Regal’s patron, is back with new material which will include his own experiences of the cinema he visited as a child.

Mr Wiper added that he was delighted with the success of the Regal since its reopening and thanked everyone who had helped make it happen.

“We had a few apprehensions about how many people would come but the numbers have been brilliant.

The most popular film so far has been The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which has attracted more than 6,000 people, but it looks like it will be pushed by Salmon Fishing in the Yemen which has also been a big hit.”

For more information and film listings, visit theregal.ac