A WOMAN has shared memories of her time helping to run a Shakespeare theatre group. 

Helen Ivison was the vice chair of Curwen Heritage Theatre, a group that performed Shakespeare plays throughout the 1990s.

Their plays were performed across Cumberland, with their main venue being Curwen Hall in Workington. Works by The Bard that they performed over the years included A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, and King Lear. 

News and Star: James Kirkbride and Clare Thompson in the Curwen Heritage Theatre's latest production 'Much Ado About Nothing'James Kirkbride and Clare Thompson in the Curwen Heritage Theatre's latest production 'Much Ado About Nothing' (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Ivison said: "We'd done a couple of plays beforehand, but we became Curwen Heritage Theatre in 1994, the first play that we ever did as a group was Romeo and Juliet back in 1992. 

"We're still officially a group, but we performed the Shakespeare plays from 1992 once a year until the year 2000 when we put on a production of King Lear. 

"Another two Shakespeare plays were performed in different locations until 2002. We went on to do something called the Cumbrian Story Project which was held right across the county and into the borders, that was very successful. 

"It was absolutely wonderful working as part of the Curwen Heritage Theatre group over the years. 

News and Star: The theatre group in action The theatre group in action (Image: Newsquest)

"The shows were always full, but we did play to a small audience. We were based at Curwen Hall, which was our home, but we performed right across Cumbria. 

"We've performed in places as far away as the northeast coast. 

"I've always loved Shakespeare, but it wasn't only me. Tony Cunningham, the chair, and a group of trustees all loved Shakespeare and we thought that the hall would be a great venue to perform that plays at.

"It's a very historic place. 

"The tower of the hall was built in the 1100s and from then it's been lived in and bits have been added on and altered."

News and Star: A production of The Tempest A production of The Tempest (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Ivison is a local history buff and has written several books.

"It distresses me in some ways as the history of the hall seems to be disappearing, because people don't remember it," she added.