ITS that time of the year again in Tenbury.

‘Oh no, it’s not! Oh yes, it is!’

The annual pantomime had its first night at the Regal last evening and will play until the new year.

As has become the tradition, it is a mix of professional performers working with amateurs from the local community.

“Mirror, Mirror on the wall,

“Which is the fairest panto of them all?

“Why Snow White, of course, and her Seven Strong Team,

“It plays at The Regal in December 2019”

It’s Snow White’s turn to take up residence in Tenbury for this local professional pantomime.

Snow White was told to never accept gifts from strangers but when she takes a bite of apple life turns upside down and she ends up in a strange house with seven even stranger men.

But will her prince find her?

Come and join the panto fun as it’s off to work we go...

The performance runs throughout the Christmas period until Friday, January 3, and there will be what has been described as a relaxed performance on Thursday, January 2, for families or for people who find sitting in quiet for an extended period more difficult.

A family ticket for two adults and two children aged 16 or under is available.

The Regal is a rare example of a typical cinema built in smaller towns between the first and the second world wars.

It was opened on Thursday, July 29, 1937 but the building to which alterations were made in 1936 to construct the foyer, offices and projection room, had stood on the site for many years.

Ernest Roberts of Birmingham, a specialist cinema architect, designed the building. His 1936 plans show a basement and a single pitched roof to replace the double pitched roof over the original building.

This single roof was never built but the inside of the attic above the foyer still contains old rafters and is in a very poor state of repair.

The cinema retained its Victorian front with its columns until 1969 when it started to fall down and was rendered over and lost much of its character.

It was probably about this time that the Regal’s neon sign was removed.

During its long life the Regal has had its ups and downs, but nearly 10 years ago underwent a major refurbishment costing nearly £700,000 that was paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is owned by Tenbury Town Council.