IT has been a painstaking task but when the Regent reopens for the new season next month staff at the theatre are confident it will have been worth it.
By Jo Macdonald
IT has been a painstaking task but when the Regent reopens for the new season next month staff at the theatre are confident it will have been worth it.
For the summer is being spent cleaning the building and ensuring maintenance is up to scratch.
And among the jobs undertaken has been the meticulous cleaning of the three chandeliers in the theatre's two foyers.
Installed in the late sixties, this is the first time the chandeliers have been cleaned in eight years, and it is by no means an easy job.
Each of the chandeliers has more than 200 differing sized glass tubes which have to be taken down one by one, cleaned and then put pack in the right place.
"It's been a painstaking task," said theatre caretaker, Vic Jackson. "However, it will be well worth it when you see the difference the cleaning makes to the lights."
The cleaning of the opulent fitting is by no means the only job that will have been completed by the time theatre-goers walk through the Regents doors again.
As the theatre, which is part of Ipswich Borough Council Arts & Entertainments Service, gears up for the autumn season, it is also having a new roof constructed and a new computerised box office system installed. The new system will cover the whole service, which also includes the Corn Exchange and Ipswich Film Theatre, and will dramatically improve service to customers.
The autumn season opens at the Regent on September 9, with a week-long run of the West End comedy thriller CORPSE! starring Mark McGann, Colin Baker and Louise Jameson.
Other highlights of the season include performances by Level 42, Toploader, Bryan Ferry and Ray Davies, as well as stand-up shows by Jim Davidson and Peter Kaye and the arrival of West End production Caught in the Net, starring Russ Abbot.
To find out what is going on at the Regent in the new season visit the central box office, Princes Street, Ipswich, or call 01473 433100 or visit: www.ipswich-ents.co.uk
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