The refurbished Regent Theatre gave everyone a huge wow moment last week when the new look was revealed live on BBC Look East. It really deserves its accolade as the premier theatre in East Anglia.
I was shown round the building site while the refurbishment was taking place. At that time, I could see the ceiling just beginning to emerge like a butterfly from its cocoon. Now it’s fully exposed it’s a really stunning entrance to the theatre, a great spacious and bright centre piece. I love the Art Deco look that the crush hall and bar area now have. The light fittings and seating are great too, and fit right in.
The Regent is surely one of the jewels in our cultural crown. Culture will take centre stage next year as the town aims to become the UK City of Culture in 2029. I was at an event at the Wolsey Theatre last week – at the other end of the golden mile from the Regent. There was such a groundswell of support for culture in Ipswich and I’m looking forward to a great team moulding that support into a winning bid. It is great to see the football club, which is another great cultural icon of the town, backing the bid.
My proudest moment in the Regent was being a Judge on Ipswich Has Got Talent, channelling my inner Craig Revell Horwood! It did give me a chance to see back of house. It was old, steep and cramped. It wasn’t a great experience.
I was very pleased to see the back of house refurbished a couple of years back. A new modular building was opened by Mayor Lynne Mortimer two years ago. A space that we can be proud to bring visiting artists to.
We have now moved forward and upgraded the front of house. It is important to say that this refurbishment has been funded by a ticket levy, rather than the council taxpayer. The size of the Regent attracts a wide range of bands, musicians, musicals and comedians and I’m sure the people who come to see shows at the Regent will get a much better experience now because of their levy.
I have gushed already about the ceilings downstairs. Upstairs, the Circle Lounge has been transformed. There is also now better disabled access, with improved ramped access through the hall of fame, a widened foyer and crush hall with a longer and better bar area.
The biggest bit of customer feedback we received was about the lack of toilets. This has been addressed by building an extension with many more toilets, especially for ladies. This includes more accessible toilets and a changing places toilet.
I would like to thank the team who pulled this refurbishment together and were able to deliver on time. Council staff were heavily involved with KLH Architects and Mixbrow construction. Many other companies were also involved. Thanks all for a great team effort.
Back when I was a new councillor, Labour had a minority administration running Ipswich council. We were always committed to retaining the theatre as a live venue, but both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats wanted to see the theatre run as a trust at arm's length from the council, or for it to be sold off altogether to an independent operator. Fortunately, this never came to pass, and we now have this superb facility for people across the East.
What next for the Regent? I’m looking forward to bringing the City of Culture here in 2029. Wouldn’t that be a great way to celebrate the Regent’s 100th birthday?
Neil MacDonald is Labour leader of Ipswich Borough Council.
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