The Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells celebrated its 75th anniversary on Saturday 24th May by inviting the local press and bloggers, its business partners, local community groups that perform at the theatre and long standing patrons to a morning of memories, tea and a special birthday cake where they learned some fascinating facts about the history of the theatre and saw some tremendous pictures, including the wonderful snap above, advertising a Masked Fancy Dress Ball that took place at the Assembly Hall in 1947.
The Assembly Hall was opened in 1939 as a state-of-the-art theatre, cinema, ballroom, banquet hall, concert hall and more. In the words of a Courier reporter at the time: ‘No other town in the country has a more modern, more comfortable or more versatile building for public assembly.’ Over the years the Assembly Hall has played a variety of roles in the life of the town. During the war years, children evacuated from London were sent to the Assembly Hall to await collection by host families, and daily dinners were laid on in the auditorium by the Women’s Voluntary Services. Licensing hours and dance programmes were extended for the benefit of the many servicemen in the area.
Through the years, the venue has hosted some of the biggest stars of their day, visiting repertory companies from London and classical concerts from virtuoso performers . Boasting one of the finest sprung dance floors in the South East, the hall was the site of many balls and public dances featuring the best big bands and orchestras through the 40s, 50s and 60s, as well as performances by now world famous rock and roll bands including The Rolling Stones and The Who. In addition the theatre has been the venue for many local performing groups including, among others, the Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Tunbridge Wells Choral Society and TWODS.
Theatre Director Brian McAteer says, ‘The theatre is a key feature in the landscape of Tunbridge Wells. Seventy-five years on, our landmark anniversary gives us the opportunity to look back at our achievements and look forward to an exciting future. From its inception as a state-of-the-art venue, we are delighted to still be bringing the very best entertainment to the heart of Tunbridge Wells whilst continuing to support the local community.
Over the last six months the theatre has been working hard to catalogue and archive its history and have produced three short films capturing memories of the Assembly Hall Theatre. The self authored films detail memories from a child evacuee, a couple who met and performed at Youth Calling and a patron who’s father was bar manager and who met her husband at a tea dance at the theatre. The films really do capture the living history of a building that has been at the heart of Tunbridge Wells for 75 years.
The videos and other archive material can be seen by using the link – http://75.assemblyhalltheatre.com/index.php/stories/. This micro site was created by the Assembly Hall Theatre so that, over the course of its 75th year, the theatre has a place to share emerging stories and images from patrons.