Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
Encyclopedia
The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent
, Staffordshire
, England
. It opened originally in 1929 as a super cinema and continued to be used as a cinema in various incarnations, originally as the Regent, under the ownership of Provincial Cinema Theatres, then as the Gaumont which was subsequently tripled, and finally as the Odeon, until its closure in 1989. The large stage was utilised in the early years, however was unused for a period until it was pressed into action in 1961 following the closure of the nearby Theatre Royal, Hanley.
Following a three year, £23 million development of the city centre, The Regent was reopened on 22 September 1999 after being fully restored to its previously elegant Art Deco
style and has already been visited by a host of distinguished guests including Sir Derek Jacobi
. Her Majesty the Queen
officially opened The Regent Theatre in October 1999. The theatre holds 1600 patrons on two levels. The Regent Theatre is currently part of the Ambassador Theatre Group
As a leading venue for touring productions, The Regent is capable of taking large productions and has played host to opera
, dance
, drama
and musicals, direct from Broadway
and the West End
, such as Thoroughly Modern Millie
, Cats
, Starlight Express
, 42nd Street
and The Woman in Black
. The theatre is also known for its annual pantomime, frequently starring local celebrity Jonathan Wilkes.
Notably Glyndebourne
Touring Opera has relocated its northern operations out of Manchester
and into the Regent Theatre.
The Regent Theatre hosts many workshops to help aspiring actors become better at acting.
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It opened originally in 1929 as a super cinema and continued to be used as a cinema in various incarnations, originally as the Regent, under the ownership of Provincial Cinema Theatres, then as the Gaumont which was subsequently tripled, and finally as the Odeon, until its closure in 1989. The large stage was utilised in the early years, however was unused for a period until it was pressed into action in 1961 following the closure of the nearby Theatre Royal, Hanley.
Following a three year, £23 million development of the city centre, The Regent was reopened on 22 September 1999 after being fully restored to its previously elegant Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style and has already been visited by a host of distinguished guests including Sir Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
. Her Majesty the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
officially opened The Regent Theatre in October 1999. The theatre holds 1600 patrons on two levels. The Regent Theatre is currently part of the Ambassador Theatre Group
Ambassador Theatre Group
The Ambassador Theatre Group is an independent operator of theatres in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1992, by Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire,OBE, it acquired the Live Nation theatre group in November 2009.-List of theatres:...
As a leading venue for touring productions, The Regent is capable of taking large productions and has played host to opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
and musicals, direct from Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, such as Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
, Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
, Starlight Express
Starlight Express
Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
, 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
and The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black (play)
The Woman in Black is a 1987 stage play, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt. The play is based on the book of the same name, which was written in 1983 by Susan Hill. It is notable for only having two actors perform the whole play. It was first performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, in...
. The theatre is also known for its annual pantomime, frequently starring local celebrity Jonathan Wilkes.
Notably Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
Touring Opera has relocated its northern operations out of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and into the Regent Theatre.
The Regent Theatre hosts many workshops to help aspiring actors become better at acting.