Ulverston Outsiders staged Noises Off in November 1992.

The Mail’s reviewer said Noises Off took the play-within-a-play theme to the ultimate, with a face-within-a-farce which left the audience gasping from a surfeit of both action and laughter.

The reviewer said it would be unfair to single out any member of the cast of nine for special praise as the play was entirely dependent on teamwork.

It opened with a fairly standard set, lots of doors and stairs, and it was only when Dotty Otley (Bridget Brice) began arguing with director Lloyd Dallas (Neil Metcalfe) that the audience realised it was watching the dress rehearsal of a touring rep company.

Garry LeJeune (Robin Twyford), Brooke Ashton (Kay Charnley), Fredrick Fellowes (Steve Carrick) and Belinda Blair (Jenny Shipley) made up the almost obligatory two couples to give the farce confusion.

The other characters were an overworked stage manager (Keir Morton), his inexperienced assistant (Diane Hunt), and a bit part player (Doug Fairweather).

‘It is so good that the first act could stand alone and the audience is left wondering if act two will be a let-down,’ stated the reviewer. Not so, for the whole set was reversed to show backstage bitchiness as the play was actually performed, ‘an exercise performed with such pace and complexity that the hours of toil put into rehearsal were patently obvious’.

In 1989 Ulverston Outsiders presented Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

The Mail’s reviewer said there were strong performances throughout the cast.

Kerry Willison-Parry gave an engaging and self-assured performance as Voila, while Phil Lister was outstanding as the scheming Sir Toby Belch.

In 1984 Ulverston Outsiders was preparing to perform Willy Russell’s Educating Rita. A tour was set to include performances at eight towns and villages, including Ulverston, Coniston, Broughton, Barrow, Grange and Grizedale.

Over the years The Mail has also featured photographs from plays performed in Furness by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Open Hand Theatre Company.