Audiences were entranced at Shaftesbury Park on Saturday evening as the award-winning Chapterhouse Theatre Company staged 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

Groups of families and friends brought along picnics for the special summer event.

Councillor Isobel Day, her husand and friends from Whitehead High School days were among those savouring the occasion.

"I thought there were more people there than previously. It was well attended. It was warm and people were sitting in their T-shirts. We had a picnic. It was a great night," said Councillor Day.

"We were talking to a couple from Bangor, who said they had heard about it before and how good it was. They said they had a great time."

A request has already been made for further feasts of the bard's work at local venues.

In a letter to the TIMES this week, local historian John Hulme states: "I would ask the Mayor, even in these financially straightened times, to please organise another performance such as this next year; perhaps a mid-winter performance of, say, Macbeth could be arranged for the castle."

A second helping of drama was served up at the same venue the following day.

Aimed at a younger audience, Alice Through the Looking Glass was performed by Quantum Theatre Group.

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