Dorset's Regent Centre cinema returned to 1930s glory

A charity-run, independent cinema has been returned to its 1930s glory with a £350,000 lockdown refurbishment.

The Regent Centre in Christchurch, Dorset, will reopen next month after closing in March due to the pandemic.

Bosses said the impact of coronavirus meant the theatre would be operating at a loss "for some time to come".

However, having already committed to the works, the charity decided to make the most of the enforced closure and continue with the revamp.

The work, which began in June, was funded through a ticket levy - £1 from each ticket sold in the last three years has been set aside for the upgrade.

General manager Matthew Vass-White said: "We had been planning the project in the 12 months leading up to the closure.

"We had already commissioned bespoke seating and carpets which were well into manufacture when we were just starting to learn what Covid-19 was.

"The theatre was also in a state of dilapidation after 14 years of continuous use without any significant updating. So we needed to continue, if we were allowed to, in order not to lose any of the funding, but also to ensure that we had a theatre in the best shape possible when we reopened."

The 90-year-old cinema has also been awarded £5,292 from the government's Culture Recovery Fund but Mr Vass-White said the cash would cover just half the protective equipment it needed when it reopens next month.

He said the theatre would "only get by on the generosity of customers" buying tickets and making donations.

He said: "We're finding ourselves constantly adjusting our financial expectations of the market and adjusting how we react to them, sometimes almost daily, to protect the future of the Regent Centre."