Regal Theatre undergoing a face lift
The Regal Theatre has almost finished her facelift and make-over. From opening in 1925, The Regal Theatre has played a major role in the fabric and culture within the City of Burnside community. Council was forced to close the theatre in March due to COVID-19 restrictions and took the opportunity to bring forward the planned renovations. The whole plan was overseen by a heritage architect consultant, right down to the pattern of the carpet and the colour of the paint. More than 500 new seats have been installed, new carpet laid and all the paintwork spruced up. The overall aim of the upgrades is to increase customer experience, preserve the theatre’s traditional beauty, and make for a more comfortable visit.
Steve Virgo has managed the theatre since December 2016. Steve had spent 12 years working for Hoyts cinemas, working his way up from usher to projectionist and then management. “That was the old days of 35 mm film,” he says. Steve left the cinema industry for a few years to work as a finance manager in a family company. “Being away from the industry for a few years I realised how good it was and I had a couple of close friends still in the industry.” In late 2016 he saw the job advertised to manage the Regal and Trak theatres. More than 200 applied and Steve was selected.
“The fundamentals of managing a theatre don’t really change,” he says. “The big difference was the change to digital - that made it a lot easier.” In March 2018 Council took over management of the theatre and offered Steve the position of manager as a Council employee.
During the COVID-19 shutdown Steve has been overseeing the renovations and writing an operations manual for the theatre. “Not many people know how to run all elements of a cinema so I put it all down in writing,” Steve says. The handful of casual employees were all offered alternative work with Council to keep up their hours.
If all goes to plan the ‘old girl’ will be throwing open her doors to the public in September.
Steve has plans to run events as well as show movies. “I am negotiating to have Rhonda Burchmore perform in October and maybe comedian Joel Creasey in November,” he says. Some of the big budget movies coming to the screen are the latest James Bond instalment No Time To Die and the Helen Reddy biopic I am Woman, starring Adelaide’s Tilda Cobham-Harvey.
Check out the website for details www.theregaltheatre.com.au
History
The Chelsea Cinema is one of a number of historic theatres and cinemas which have been identified as being of State Heritage significance. The building, known as the Princess Theatre was constructed in 1925 and originally designed for silent movies but was adapted for talkies' when they became available in 1929. It was 'updated' from a late Edwardian design to an Art Deco design in 1940, and it this architectural character and quality which is the main basis of the history and significance of the cinema today.
In 1928 the Princess Theatre became the Marryatville Ozone, when Ozone Pictures (later absorbed into Hoyts) took over the ownership of the theatre. In 1941 a substantial upgrade was undertaken for Ozone by the firm of F Kenneth Milne Architect.
In 1963 the building was up for sale and Amoco Petrol Company was prepared to buy the Cinema and replace it with a petrol station. However, Burnside Council purchased the Cinema and leased it back to the previous owner, Hoyts.
In 1971 Hoyts decided not to renew their lease and Wallis Cinemas tendered for the lease. It was then that the building was renamed the Chelsea Cinema.
In 1983 the Cinema was entered on the State Heritage Register.
In 2008, the City of Burnside received a request enquiring as to whether Council would be prepared to sell the Chelsea Cinema and the adjacent May Street property. Following a number of options being considered in regard to the future use of the Chelsea Cinema site, the decision was made to run an Expression of Interest process for the sale of the site. This ultimately led to a strong activism within the community, contesting any sale and demanding that the building remain in public ownership as a cinema in perpetuity. As a result, the City of Burnside abandoned the sale process and opted instead to lease the cinema to a private cinema operator. Republic Theatres were awarded the lease, and the Cinema was subsequently re-named the Regal Theatre. Republic Theatres ran the cinema until 2017, when Council opted to take over management of the cinema using internal resources.
The City of Burnside implemented a Conservation Management Plan for the Chelsea Cinema in 2009, which was updated for the Regal Theatre in 2020 to guide the development, conservation and ongoing maintenance of the buildings, based upon an understanding of the history and significance, and the physical condition of the building.
