An amateur theatre in Carlisle is urging people to come and support it as it gets set to raise its curtains once again.

After an 18-month long closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Carlisle Green Room Theatre, tucked away on West Walls in Carlisle, will be returning with a major production, Handbags, on October 11.

Although excited about the return, Carlisle Green Room Theatre publicity officer Kath Paterson said it was vital that the theatre gets “bums on seats” on its return.

To lose the theatre would be “awful”, she said.

“A lot of people don’t even know that we exist.

“The lockdown that we’ve had for the past 18 months has crippled us and we’re needing to really publicise the fact that we are there and that we put on very professional and outstanding productions.

“People need to come along and support their local theatre.

“We’ve never been in such a dire situation and we need to put bums on seats.”

The theatre’s return production, Handbags, by Moira Buffini will be running until October 16.

It will also be presenting a Radio Play from September 22 to 24 at 7.30pm. Doors will open at 6.30pm.

Despite the challenges of emerging again amid the pandemic, Kath admitted that she and others at the theatre were excited about its return.

She said: “It’s absolutely amazing.

“It means so much to us.”

The 142-seat theatre is quietly tucked away on West Wall, but it has been around for a long time and will be celebrating its 70th birthday next year.

Kath was adamant that independent amateur theatres continue to play an important role in the city and urged people to come along and support the work it does.

She added: “We’ve got a lot of amateur dramatic groups for young people in the city and they can transfer those skills at the Green Room Theatre.

“We’ve got a lot of performing arts students who come from Carlisle College and it’s an outlet for them as well.

“We’re open-house to everybody and anybody.

“We also have a core of excellent actors who star in most of our productions.

“You can come along for £10, have a drink and watch a brilliant performance. If we lost it, it would be a crying shame.”

Tickets for Handbags will be on sale from August 16 and can be purchased from Ticketsource or Carlisle Tourist Information Office.

Check out the Carlisle Green Room Theatre on their Facebook and Instagram pages, or visit their website at https://www.carlislegreenroom.uk/.