Cromer Pier Pavilion Theatre pays tribute to 'front row Jo'

Jo Raby, known as Front Row Jo, went to most summer season and Christmas shows at Cromer Pier in Norfolk

A theatre has paid tribute to a woman known as its "greatest fan" after she attended nearly every performance for "decades".

Jo Raby, 60, known as Front Row Jo, went to most summer season and Christmas shows at Cromer Pier in Norfolk. She died on Monday.

She sat in the same seat for every performance and was a "huge part of our theatre life," the venue said.

"We will miss her terribly," a spokeswoman said.

There is already a plaque on Ms Raby's seat in the theatre, which names her as the "greatest fan"

Ms Raby had been an almost permanent fixture at the variety shows for about 40 years and the theatre said it was "beyond saddened" about her death.

The venue said she missed a few shows, usually when visiting family, but "when she was in Cromer she would be here".

"She had been coming for decades," said Deb Lewis from the theatre. "I have been here 12 years and she was very much a firm feature when I arrived.

"She probably spent a lot of money over the years, but she was a member of the Friends of the Theatre so got a reduced rate and we gave her quite a few comps as well.

"Her seat number A17 is slap bang in the middle of the front row. We will now be leaving it empty for ever more in her honour."

The Pavilion Theatre, on the end of Cromer Pier, has a summer season variety show and a Christmas production

Ms Lewis added that the cast always mentioned Ms Raby during productions and she was "incredibly kind and thoughtful", regularly bringing in sweets and presents for the theatre staff and cast.

She was invited on to the venue's carnival float every year and to each season's opening and closing nights, which were "the highlights of her year".

"I think for Jo it was always about a feeling of belonging - she loved to feel part of the production," Ms Lewis said.

"The cast always brought her into it and she loved being picked out.

"She loved the show but it was really more about the emotion of it, the belonging.

"And we always made her feel like she was part of us. How could you not?"

Ms Raby was always invited to be on the venue's float at Cromer Carnival

Ms Raby's brother Paul, said: "It was her second life. Every day she was off work she'd be on the pier getting a sun tan and every night she'd be at the show.

"It was her passion, it was what she wanted to do with her time. She loved socialising, she spoke to everyone."

Ms Lewis said lockdown had "hit Jo really hard" and she "just wasn't herself" when they could not put on the show in 2020.

"We just all adored her and what she represented - someone fully committed to our product. There was always a real affectionate fondness for her," she said.

"She will be very much missed, it won't quite be the same without her."

The theatre said everybody "adored" Ms Raby and she would be "very much missed"

The cast performed their finale to the show in her honour on Tuesday night.

Posting on social media, pier entertainer Olly Day said she was "an absolute sweetheart".

"I've lost count of the amount of times I have stood on the stage at Cromer and looked down to see her laughing at the same joke she had heard the night before," he said.

"Jo was a dear soul and a good person. We will miss her very much at the end of the pier, it was her second home."

Ms Raby's family have asked for donations instead of flowers at her funeral, with half going to Cancer Research and half going to the Friends of the Theatre charity.

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