Regent Theatre, Dunedin

Infobox Theatre
name = Regent Theatre

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caption = The Regent Theatre, Dunedin in 2007
address = 17 The Octagon
city = Dunedin
country = New Zealand
designation = Historic Place - Category I [cite web|title=Register of Historic Places|url=http://www.historic.org.nz/Register/ListingDetail.asp?RID=4363&sm=|work=New Zealand Historic Places Trust|accessdate=2008-04-29]
latitude = -45.874649
longitude = 170.503988
architect = James Hodge White
owner = Otago Theatre Trust
capacity = 1,684
type =
opened = 1 June 1928
yearsactive =
rebuilt =
closed =
othernames =
production =
currentuse =
website = www.regenttheatre.co.nz

The Regent Theatre is a major theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is in The Octagon, the city's central plaza, directly opposite the Municipal Chambers and close to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

Originally a cinema, the theatre opened on June 1, 1928, and the interior is extensively decorated in a revived baroque style, characteristic of the time. The design is a variation of Robert Atkinson's for the 1921 Regent cinema in Brighton, England, which was demolished in 1974. The Dunedin building's supervising architect was James Hodge White (1896-1970), one of the founders of the Dunedin architecture firm Miller White & Dunn. It was sited behind a building on the Octagon designed by David Ross (1827-1908) which was first opened in 1876. The Octagon building was given an additional storey in 1879 and remodelled at the ground floor in 1928 to provide the present theatre entrance.

Purchased by the Otago Theatre Trust in 1973, the building has since been used as a live venue, although it still also functions as a cinema during film festivals every year. It is now owned by the Dunedin City Council.

Annual book sale

As it is run by a charitable trust, the theatre relies on the support of the local community for its continued existence.

A major part of this support is the "Regent 24-hour Book Sale", the largest sale of second-hand books in New Zealand and reputedly the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Every May since 1981, books donated by the general public are sold at the theatre by volunteers over the course of 24 hours. Up to 350,000 books are on sale each year, many of them priced at 50 cents each (although a smaller number of specialist books are on sale at a higher price). Buyers come from throughout New Zealand for the sale, which has become a major event on Dunedin's calendar, and raises $80-100,000 annually.

References

External links

* [http://www.regenttheatre.co.nz/ Regent Theatre]
* [http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0505/S00062.htm "Scoop" article on the book sale's 25th anniversary]