Pam Ayres, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - review

She performed to a sell out crowd at the Theatre Severn last night, where her poems, anecdotes and jokes received great enthusiasm from the audience.

Reading extracts from her book, Necessary Aptitude, Pam's performance was a nostalgic trip down memory lane for audience members of a certain age.

Pam told tales of life growing up in the Vale of the White Horse, interspersed with jokes and all in with her usual warmth.

Since making her debut on Opportunity Knocks in 1975, she has been a much-loved figure, and her witty observations on everyday life really struck a chord with the crowd.

Though I may have been a bit too young to grasp all of the references, it was greatly enjoyed by my mother, who came with me, and related a lot to Pam's tales and poems of children fleeing the nest and the joy of welcoming a first grandchild.

And I learned where my mum got her sense of humour, as she has long told a naughty joke about soup, which I found out she had actually stolen from Pam's repertoire when I heard it on stage.

In fact, my mum described Pam's show as a greatest hits, where she did some of her well-known older works, like Oh I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth, as well as some newer pieces she has been putting together in the lead up to this tour.

Actually she even had a note of poems she had performed last time she was in Shrewsbury in 2014, so as not to duplicate her act.

Really, Pam's show is impressive just for the sheer volume of poems she must have memorised, reciting everything off-hand, acting out as she went.

And she had to perform everything while battling with a cold, blowing her nose and apologising to the crowd.

Talking to strangers for two hours is difficult, but Pam brought a friendly warmth to Shrewsbury, and her performance was greatly appreciated by the crowds who attended.

By Sophie Madden