Letter to the Trust from Tenbury Town Council

Regal Trust Report December 2014

Regal Trust Report December 2014

December was as usual very busy.  With a flurry of Nativity plays, a Christmas Concert, the seasonal ballet from the Royal Opera House, an excellent one man drama, and of course the Christmas Pantomime.

This year, the trust embarked on a very ambitious project.  To produce the best possible show, within the limitations of the building.

Professional set builders were engaged to produce a spectacular set, with many scene changes but designed so that they could be changed by a single person, or in our case a Panda.

Luxurious costumes were hired and then expertly fitted by our own fantastic team of wardrobe ladies.

Additional lighting was installed, and special effects were designed, including a magical flying carpet designed and built by Paul Daniels.

A mixed cast of professional actors and seasoned amateurs were engaged and supported by a troupe of Babes and Junior Dancers.  Professional Musicians were hired to give the show that added professionalism.

In addition to the thirty people on stage a large support team of crew, chaperones and technicians were also assembled and our usual team of front of house volunteers were supplemented by additional local people, and sometimes visiting relatives to cater to the needs of the 2227 ticket holders.

The Trust invested a lot of time and money into the Pantomime, with the final cost likely to exceed £23,000, but the result appears to universally acclaimed as very successful from an artistic and enjoyment perspective and is also likely to make a financial contribution to the Trusts ongoing investment programme. The show also brought a lot of visitors to Tenbury, many for the first time, so will have also boosted both the local day & night time economy.

Regal Trust Report November 2014

Trust Report November 2014

November was a much busier month, with good numbers for most shows & films.

The Mistletoe Music Showcase was a great success.  We were able to use a small grant from the Philip Bates Trust, in conjunction with volunteers from the Mistletoe Association to provide support to three young bands to help them become ready to perform in public.  The show was headlined by the Misers, who gave their time & loan of their equipment for free.

The preparations for the pantomime are gathering momentum, and nearly all the tickets for nine performances have been sold.

The latest brochure arrived at the weekend and a team of volunteers distributed copies to much of Tenbury & Burford on Friday & Saturday.  Royal Mail are also distributing a show diary to 25,000 local addresses.

Regal Trust Report October 2014

Trust Report Oct 2014

October was a month of contrasts,  The month began with a very successful broadcast by Stephen Fry, then we had a number of films that barely broke even.  In the middle of the month we had the excellent live drama, Around the World in 80 Days which unfortunately also failed to break even.  The half term week was very successful with 780 people enjoying live Music, Films and finally Magic with Paul Daniels.

The ticket sales for the rest of the year appear to look reasonably healthy, but our main focus is our Pantomime Aladdin.  

The cast are hard at work rehearsing, and the technical team are ramping up to cope with the requirements of building unusual props and using far more complex technical equipment than they has so far been exposed too.

We have already sold 30% of the tickets.  This is good, but we all need to keep up the effort of promoting the show, as bringing people into town in the Christmas season also has a tremendous effect on the whole town's vitality and viability.

Over the next few weeks 30,000 leaflets advertising the pantomime will be distributed by Royal Mail in a wide area around the town and hopefully this will encourage even more people to come and give us a try.

The new mid-stage curtains have now arrived and were used for the first time for the Paul Daniel’s show.  The new LED lighting has also been installed to replace the somewhat unreliable and expensive to run Par Cans.  The replacement cinema screen is due to be installed later this month.