It was at 6.45pm sharp, on Monday, 22 August 1931, that the Regent Cinema in Marple first opened its doors. After paying the equivalent of roughly three pence for stalls and five pence for circle seats at the ticket desk, a packed out theatre enjoyed performances from Renate Müller, Jack Hulbert and Owen Nares in British musical comedy ‘Sunshine Susie’.
Since then, like many independent cinemas, the Regent has endured its fair share of ups and downs. After falling into disrepair, it was put up for sale in 1968 and almost redeveloped as a bingo hall, before the Lillis family purchased the company and reopened it in 1969.
The family quickly transformed the space. Pullman seats were introduced, interiors were refreshed, seating was reduced to improve legroom, and a new projector was fitted. Since the Lillis took it over, it has weathered the rise of video, the move to digitisation and even the pandemic and has run almost continuously - bar Covid-enforced lockdowns - for more than fifty years.
