Blaze at Regis Centre, but the shows go on ...

The blaze began in a first floor storeroom at the Regis Centre and severely damaged lighting equipment. It was the most severe fire in the building's near 30-year history.

Jim Brooks, the chairman of the centre's operator, Arun Arts Co Ltd, said: 'We are all very saddened by the incident. The police and fire service are currently looking into this and we will have to await their findings. However, it appears not to be down to faults with the building or the electrics.'

The blaze affected the amount of stage lighting available. But the building has stayed open during the past week.

All the scheduled shows will be taking place, although with a reduced use of lighting.

The next performances in the centre's Alexandra Theatre will be Rainbow Productions' Musicals celebration tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. Mr Men and Little Miss Sports Day Fun will be appearing there on Sunday. The fire broke out just before 12.45pm last Friday.

There were no casualties. About 25 people in the building were evacuated in less than two-and-a-half minutes.

Fifteen firefighters from Bognor and Chichester attended the scene. They stayed for about 45 minutes. The fire and rescue service's fire investigation officer and the police scientific support branch were also present. The blaze was said by the fire service this week to be '˜of unknown origin'.

Regis Centre manager Adam Cunard said he was grateful for the professional response of the building's volunteers in ensuring it was quickly emptied.

As soon as the firefighters left, it was a case of the show must go on at the centre.

That night's performance of A Dance For All Seasons by the Art of Dance and Fitness performance school still took place, though with extremely reduced lighting.

'Everyone pulled together to enable that performance to go ahead,' said Mr Cunard.

'Thanks to our fantastic backstage staff we were able to ensure that the show went on as planned.

'It would have been devastating to cancel a performance and disappoint the many children who were taking part and the audience.'

The show was part of a sell-out week of performances by Art of Dance. It also came a day after the Arun Arts trustees had met the selection panel which will be recommending to councillors the operator of the new entertainment complex planned to replace the Regis Centre.