Final curtain for Shakespeare theatre troupe

Isabel Cooke surrounded by Hamet caseImage source, Phil Barrett
Image caption,

Isabel Cooke (front) poses with actors performing in Hamlet as Shakespeare at The George says goodnight

  • Published

Members of a Shakespeare theatre troupe are wondering what tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow will bring after a 65-year run at a hotel came to an end.

Shakespeare at The George (SaTG) performed for the last time at the George Hotel in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

Hotel owner Greene King has ended a contract but SaTG Trust chair Reuben Milne says new venues are being explored.

He said some "interesting options" were being considered.

Image source, SaGT
Image caption,

The troupe has been performing at the George Hotel in Huntingdon since 1959

A fan in her 70s who saw some of the group's first performances at the George returned for the final curtain calls.

Isabel Cooke, who said she first saw the troupe perform there in 1959 as a child, was at the hotel to say goodbye.

"My mother heard that Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew was to be performed at the George," she explained.

"I was only eight or nine."

She added: "From that first performance, I was sold on Shakespeare and inspired to take A-level English just a few years later.

"I often look back to that first introduction and I’ve lost count of how many Shakespeare at The George plays I’ve seen since then."

Image source, SaGT
Image caption,

The group is looking for a new venue after its run at the George Hotel ended

Mr Milne said: "We know that Shakespeare at The George has some very loyal fans and supporters but we didn’t dare to hope that we’d meet someone who was at our first production."

The group had announced earlier this year that a summer production of Hamlet would be mark the end of the troupe's time at the George.

Mr Milne said several people had been in touch, with offers of new venues, after reading that the George run was ending.

He said the troupe was considering some "interesting options".

Greene King has said that the George could not commit to future dates because of "other events and commitments".

Follow Cambridgeshire news on Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk, external or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830