The Regal Theatre is the heartbeat of Minehead community, providing a unique home for the arts and culture for all those living in the Minehead and surrounding areas of west Somerset. It belongs to the community, is run by the community for the community, with no paid staff and in 2020 was awarded the QAVS - Queens Award for Voluntary Service.
The Theatre offers an exciting and diverse programme of the arts and is also a large performance space for local drama groups and other amateur performers, including children/young people who enjoy the creativity and culture of performance that also gain in skills and confidence. Oasis, a Regal–based performance group, supports people with a range of special needs ,.
Based in the town centre, the Regal has played a significant role in the town’s cultural and social life for over a quarter of a century. A large percentage of audiences come from Minehead and surrounding villages, but the varied Programme also attracts people from further afield, including holiday makers - especially those who are regular visitors to the area.
The Regal Theatre houses the Regal Film Society, the largest film society in the south west, with some 400 members, and which also provides live streaming from the Royal Opera House and Exhibitions on Screen.
Why the community needs us.....
.... to bring great drama, film, music and visual art their doorsteps
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The Regal Theatre is the only arts hub within some 25 (country!) miles of Minehead with local roads and public transport facilities making it challenging for many to travel further afield, especially in poor weather or at night.
The Theatre offers ready access to the highest possible quality of entertainment and performing art at reasonable prices.
And, as a community venue, it also attracts schools and other organisations who use the Theatre facilities for presentation, performances, parties and more! The high number of volunteers involved in the Theatre ensures a vibrant social network which so many enjoy.
Volunteers are critical to everything that happens in the Theatre - from auditions at the beginning through to get-out and set striking at the end of each show. Volunteers share or acquire new skills, whether in sound, lighting, costume, set building, stage management or IT ; the list of volunteering opportunities is long!
Why we need you:
In the years dominated by Covid-19, the Regal was forced to close, with no income from shows but still needing to meet relentless, unavoidable outgoings of some £250 a day. Inevitably the Theatre now needs to raise funds to make up for losses incurred since March 2020 and 'keep the show on the road; for many years to come too. Your help is, quite simply, invaluable!
The Regal receives no local, regional or central government support, but in usual times remains sustainable via ticket sales, donations from Theatre Friends and the local community, and some grants from charitable trusts, particularly for capital projects; but the pandemic, exacerbated by the present economic restraints, means we now must dig deeply into precious reserves - something from which we know it will take time to recover.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
