‘Mary Newcomb: A Life Recorded’ a new exhibition at The Assembly House, Norwich. Free entry and open daily 9–5 until 20 July. The exhibition brings together Mary’s writing, painting, ceramics, and previously unexhibited drawings of Norfolk.
@marynewcomb.archive
There is a talk event planned as part of @nnfest but it is fully booked with a waiting list. I hope to record the event, at least as audio, and make it available to those unable to attend.
Mary Newcomb (1922-2008) was a self-taught artist who settled in rural East Anglia. Her life and art were rooted in everyday observation and the natural world. Her unique visual language and poetic vision closely aligned with her writing. This exhibition includes her paintings, working drawings, and writing.
Mary studied at Reading University for a degree in Natural Sciences and went on to teach science and mathematics before moving East to volunteer and lodge at Flatford Mill. She met Godfrey Newcomb in Walberswick, they married and moved to a small farm in the Waveney valley where they set up Needham Pottery, mainly producing commercial functional wares. For several years in the 1960s they rented a room for a week at The Assembly House to sell ceramics. Mary became a member of the Norwich 20 Group and the Norfolk and Norwich Art Circle.
Newcomb’s first solo show was held at Crane Kalman Gallery in London in 1970 and the gallery has regularly held exhibitions of her work since. In 2009 Mary Newcomb’s Odd Universe, A Memorial Exhibition, was held at Norwich Castle, and in 2021 Compton Verney in Warwickshire held Nature’s Canvas, a large retrospective.
#marynewcomb
Join us tonight for the final Free Film event in the Spring series. The wonderful Mauvais Sang (aka The Night is Young) by Leos Carax, an 80s French thriller/romance. It was fully booked but due to some tickets being returned there are now 10 spaces again. Book via trust website
Doors 7:00 // Film 7:30
It was great to have so many of you at The Assembly House on Wednesday for Lost in Translation, the first free cinema event. The next screening is on Wed 18 March a Pedro Alamodóvar double bill. Both films will have subtitles.
Strange Way of Life, 2023, a 30min queer Western starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke.
- 5min break
Pain & Glory, 2019, semi-autobiographical film starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas. Pain and Glory talks about creation, about the difficulty of separating it from one’s own life and about the passions that give it meaning and hope.
Doors 7:00
First film starts 7:30
Free but tickets required, 35 left currently, out of 220.
For the first event we had over 30 tickets returned on the day of the screening. If you can’t make future ones, please email [email protected] in advance and I will reallocate the tickets.
Tonight we launch a new series of free entry films at The Assembly House with Lost in Translation. Doors at 7, film starts at 7:30.
We’ve had a bunch of tickets returned by people who can’t make it now, so if you’d like to join please book a ticket via the link in bio.
📽️ Free Films in Norwich! 🎞️ Join us next Wednesday 4th March for a free screening of Lost In Translation (2003). This is the first of three film events organised by The Assembly House Trust.
Tickets are required - use the link in bio or via .uk
Doors open: 7pm
Film starts: 7:30pm
Bar open: 7:00–7:30pm
Seating is unreserved
Lost in Translation won Coppola Best Original Screenplay at the 76th Academy Awards, and the film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Murray). Other accolades won include three BAFTAs and three Golden Globes. It has since been named one of the greatest films of the 2000s and 21st century.
A lonely, aging movie star named Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and a conflicted newlywed, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), meet in Tokyo. Bob is there to film a Japanese whiskey commercial; Charlotte is accompanying her celebrity-photographer husband. Strangers in a foreign land, the two find escape, distraction and understanding amidst the bright Tokyo lights after a chance meeting in the quiet lull of the hotel bar. They form a bond that is as unlikely as it is heartfelt and meaningful.
Free 📽️✨ Join us for a new series of Free Cinema events in the Noverre Ballroom, programmed and made possible by The Trust. The Spring programme includes a cult classic; a queer Western short paired with a semi-autobiographical drama; and a stylish romantic French thriller!
Tickets are required for this, book using the links in bio, or .uk
✨ Sofia Coppola - Pedro Almodóvar - Leos Carax ✨
Design by Lily Alden
At the @nnfest programme launch tonight. We’re looking forward to hosting several exciting events at @assembly_house this year as part of the festival programming, more info soon! #nnf #nnfest
Each month we host a free tour - curated by guide @roxannesmatthews and funded by The Assembly House Trust. The next one is Sun 22 Feb, book via link in bio.
This clip and the other video tours are available to watch for free in the Heritage section on our website.
The videos have been produced by historian Roxanne Matthews – who leads our monthly free tours– and videographer Shaun Lawson.
Free Tours are back! - Would you like to join us for a Tour of The Assembly House on Sun 22 Feb? Each month we host a free tour - curated by guide @roxannesmatthews and funded by The Assembly House Trust.
Tickets required - click the link in bio. Tickets for these over subscribed tours are now allocated as people register for them, rather than through a lottery draw each month as previously, there are 20 available.
Learn about the medieval college, Tudor spoils, Georgian arts, 19th century dancing classes, top secret camouflage school and more.
(Photo: Roxanne Matthews in The Grand Hall at The Assembly House)
FINAL lunchtime concert of 2025 ✨
A dreamy, unmissable farewell to the series
Tom Poster (piano) returns with Rosalind Ventris (viola) in a programme of rare nocturnal jewels featuring works by Fleury-Roy, Clarke, Gurney, White, Gipps, Delius & more!
Tickets link in bio or via
Thursday 18th December at 1:00 pm
@assembly_house Norwich
Programme
Hélène Fleury-Roy Fantasie (1910)
Luise Adolpha Le Beau Drei Stucke
Rebecca Clarke Morpheus
Ivor Gurney Sleep (arr. Ventris)
Clarence Cameron White Twilight (arr. Ventris)
Ruth Gipps Lyric Phantasy
Frederick Delius Violin Sonata No.2 (arr. Tertis)
#norwich #classical #lunchtimeconcert #recital #nocturnes
Wed 19 Nov 2025 7:30pm - 9:00pm
The Assembly House, Norwich, NR21RQ
This is a free to book - PWYC event, bring cash for the donation bucket on the night. Limited capacity
More info and Book: .uk
Described by Chortle in their five-star review of his 2023 stand-up hour Catland, as “a truly singular mind and talent, there’s never been another performer quite like JWRR. Not since Ivor Cutler at least”, his unique brand of comedy is “taking the artform in a genuinely modern direction”.
am/pm was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe. @johnnywhitereallyreally has appeared on Starstruck (BBC), The Paddock (Channel 4), Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (Channel 4), and cult web series Year Friends (Blink Industries).
A @thebookhive event for The Norwich Book Festival. Join us on Saturday 25th October for an evening of conversation and live drawing with writer, illustrator and Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, discussing the importance of childhood reading.
@chris_riddell is an author, illustrator and the political cartoonist for the Observer. He was appointed the UK’s Waterstones Children’s Laureate in 2015, and alongside many famous collaborative projects with authors, poets and artists, he also writes and illustrates his own books. These include the Ottoline series, the Costa Award winning Goth Girl series, and most recently, Mermaid’s Diary. Chris has won many awards for his work, including the Nestlé Gold Award, the UNESCO Award and two Kate Greenaway Medals. He’s been described as Britain’s greatest living illustrator…
We’re thrilled to be welcoming Chris to The Norwich Book Festival. He’ll be talking about the importance of childhood reading and how books have shaped his life and career, live drawing as he speaks. His creations will be visible to the audience via a projector and screen — an enthralling experience not to be missed.
After the talk, Chris will take questions from the audience and then be available to sign books (his latest release, Mermaid’s Diary, will be on sale along with a selection of his other titles.)
Chris Riddell: A Celebration of Childhood Reading
Saturday 25th October 2025
The Assembly House, Norwich
Doors 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start
Adults: £10 | Children 13 and under FREE | TNRP Volunteers FREE
Link in bio for tickets
