An Evening With Pam Ayres at the Assembly Hall Theatre Review
An Evening With Pam Ayres
Assembly Hall Theatre
Tunbridge Wells
Sunday 29 June 2014
Reviewed by Lynn Short
I have been a fan of Pam Ayres ever since I saw her winning appearance on Opportunity Knocks back in the 1970s, and so it was with eager anticipation that I set off with my husband to see her latest show.
We used the car park in Crescent Road which is almost adjacent to the theatre – just the Police Station is in between them – and although it was a Sunday there was still a parking charge until 5pm.
We purchased a programme (£3) and made our way up to the auditorium. We had seats in the 8th row in the front stalls and although this part is flat we could see the stage quite clearly. There was no set, just a bar type stool and a small table covered with a cloth on which were strategically placed Pam Ayres’ 2 books. I would estimate that the majority of the audience were over 50 years old, with a smattering of some younger adults and one or two children who appeared to be with their grandparents.
A voiceover invited the audience to welcome Pam Ayres to the stage and she walked on to rapturous applause which lasted several minutes. She greeted her audience warmly and talked to us as though we were all a group of friends. She talked easily about her early life in the village in Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire) where she grew up and took us through various episodes in her life, peppering these tales with her poems and extracts from her autobiography. There were so many anecdotes and her own wonderful brand of poetry. There were some sad and poignant items as well and I had tears of sadness or tears of laughter running down my face for most of the show. It is impossible to try and relate the content of the show, Pam Ayres moved smoothly from one anecdote or poem to the next, with perfect comic timing and anticipation of the audience reaction.
Pam Ayres’ show is partly aimed at promoting her latest book of poetry You Made Me Late Again! and signed copies of both this and her autobiography The Necessary Aptitude were available to purchase during the interval. She was signing her books in person after the show and there was a very long queue of people waiting for this.
This was the last performance at the Assembly Hall Theatre. The tour started back in January and has covered 31 different venues so far. I urge you to look out for her next tour and make sure you get a ticket, you will have a most memorable and enjoyable evening.
The Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells is a large brick building with a wide frontage. The box office desk is immediately inside the doors. There is a short flight of 12 steps up to the bar area and entrance to the auditorium. The theatre is wheelchair accessible but bookings for wheelchair users must be made via the box office; a lift is available to access the auditorium. There is a hearing loop and for productions which last a week there is often a signed performance.
The auditorium seating is in 3 sections – Front Stalls, Tiered Stalls and Circle and seats around 900 people ordinarily, but for some productions they put in extra seating to take it to just over 1000. The seats are comfortable and there is plenty of leg room but the armrests are made of hard plastic and are rather short.
The bar area is reasonably large with plenty of seating and small tables. Soft drinks were priced from £1.60 to £2, bottled beer ranged from £3.80 to £4.50 and a half bottle of wine was £4.50. Popcorn and a small tub of Pringles were priced at £1.50 each and bags of sweets were available at £2 and £2.50. Ice creams were £3.
Rating: 5/5 
Pam Ayres is on tour until November. For more information and tour dates visit www.pamayres.com.
Assembly Hall Theatre, Crescent Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2LU | 01892 530613
