THERE have been changes at the top at the Regal in Tenbury.

A new chairman and deputy will lead the running of the group that now operates the venue on a lease from the town council.

The change comes two years after the Regal reopened following a major £800,000 restoration. It has been a period in which there have been many changes and an expansion in the programme and range of shows.

However, the changes have not been without some criticism with the Tenbury Amateur Dramatic Society claiming that they and other similar groups have been priced out of being able to perform at the Regal.

The Regal Tenbury Trust, the volunteer led organisation that has run the Regal Tenbury for the last two years, has appointed a new chairman and deputy chairman as they go into the third year.

Peter Drew has moved from deputy to chairman and Jane Allen, who joined the organisation as a trustee, is now deputy chairman. Former chairman Chris Davis remains as a trustee.

"We are all immensely grateful to Chris for his leadership since the trust was formed,” said Peter Drew.

“His in-depth industry knowledge and his contacts have been invaluable."

Both Peter Drew and Jane Allen, who both have a background in business management, say that they will ensure that the Regal continues to trade on a firm commercial base, while striving to provide a quality community facility for arts and entertainment for Tenbury and the surrounding area.

During the period since the venue reopened there have been a number of major initiatives.

In the last 12 months, the Regal has shown 235 sessions of film or broadcast shows and staged 40 evenings of live performances.

The building, owned by the town council, was extensively renovated with the help of a Heritage Lottery Grant.

During the last two years, the trust has undertaken a range of technical improvements while maintaining a busy schedule of live and film shows. The venue is now one of the most popular in the area both with tourists, who visit to see the Italianate murals and the onsite museum, and with people looking for entertainment.

The trust is almost entirely volunteer run by more than 70 volunteers.

This year’s pantomime Aladdin will be the most ambitious challenge the Regal Tenbury Trust has undertaken since taking over the management of the venue in 2012.

It will be a 'pro-am' production with a mainly local cast, but will be written and directed by Ben Crocker, the UK’s number one pantomime script writer, assisted by a local director.

The set and costumes will be specially designed by a leading professional theatrical suppliers, and the Regal’s patron Paul Daniels is designing some of the special effects.

This will be a multi-media production using film shot on location, around Tenbury.

The show will open on Monday December 22 and will run through to the end of the month.