Dumfries cinema nears opening after refurbishments

The Regal Cinema in Dumfries is a step closer to welcoming its first visitors, with refurbishments nearly complete and exciting new plans in place.

Although the cinema has experienced a few false starts in its two-year journey to open, staff are holding off from setting an official opening date.

They are, however, eager to share several enticing features to anticipate, including comfortable sofas, late-night screenings, a state-of-the-art sound system, and food and drink supplied by local producers.

Tristan Campbell, director of the cinema, highlighted the importance of local involvement and shared in an interview with our reporter at Greatest Hits Radio, Ruth Ridley:

“We are looking at a local supplier for hot dogs and ice cream. We do have our bar list, which is kind of shortlisted at the moment, and we’ve got lots of lovely local whiskies and gins in there.”

Emphasising the commitment to community, Campbell added that there is potential for more local jobs, stating,

“If the demand is such that we need to take on additional staff, then we’d look at that at that point. We’d absolutely love to create more work for more local people.”

He says there are still a few things to check off the to-do list:

“We thought we were getting open last October, then we thought Christmas, then we thought March, and then we thought it’d be today, but we’re still waiting for paperwork to be signed off.

“We just need to get the keys and the licence application in once we get the seat certification for the building work that’s taking place, and we need to get the projector installed. Everything else is good to go.

The cinema will retain its single 10-metre screen, with seating capacity revised to accommodate 350 patrons, including plush sofa seating, which we can expect to see in the winter months.

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