SHAKESPEARE’S classic "tale of woe" was performed to an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds at Keighley's East Riddlesden Hall.

Once again The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a group that performs the bard's plays as they would have been performed in his day, came to the National Trust property, this time to perform Romeo and Juliet.

One of the most noticeable things about the troupe are that they are all male, and true to the original performances the female roles are performed by men.

ile this could be too distracting for some, especially in a play with as much romance as this one, the seasoned performers soon make you forget this, and their skill moves this beyond a quirky gimmick.

The Lord Chamberlains Men were Shakespeare's original group of performers, so seeing them perform one of his plays is as close you can get to seeing an authentic performance outside The Globe in London.

There was minimal scenery, no microphones and a cast that had to juggle multiple roles, but the crowd were enthralled by the performance, and the managed to create a memorable version of a story everyone has probably heard many times before.

The performance of Romeo and Juliet in Keighley saw the Lord Chamberlain’s Men celebrating their 10th anniversary.

Mark Puddle, founder and creative producer of the theatre company, said that over the past decade his actors had travelled more than 100,000 miles, visiting 250 venues in seven countries and performing in front of 300,000 people.

He said: “To celebrate our tenth anniversary we were enormously proud to present our most ambitious and spectacular production yet.

“The play’s eternal themes of love, honour and revenge still resonate with modern audiences.”

The Lord Chamberlain’s Men Theatre Company first toured the UK in 2004 with Shakespeare’s Scottish tragedy Macbeth. For their 10th year, the theatre company asked their fans which play they would most like to see.