IN the world of the theatre, the show must go on - and members of Warrington's Centenary Operatic Society were true to the old adage this week.

The amateur thespians may be used to being under the spotlight on stage, but they came under scrutiny of a very different kind earlier this year when they were embroiled in a murder case.

The sordid details of a love triangle between Jennifer Cupit, her husband Nick and lover Chris Linaker, which ultimately led to the death of Chris's wife, Kathryn, were splashed over every national newspaper.

All four were members of the Society, and Jenny and Chris had met during rehearsals years ago, making the formerly innocuous theatre group suddenly the focus of media attention.

That interest has since died back down, and this week the group strode confidently back on to the stage. Their production of Me and My Girl opened on Tuesday night to busy ticket sales at the Parr Hall.

And the production was dedicated to tragic Kathryn, who had known nothing of her husband's infidelity until she was confronted by knife wielding Jenny in her own home last April.

Society chairman Pat Taylor said: "Normally when a member dies, we put an obituary in the next programme, but we didn't think it was appropriate this time.

"However, we wanted to do something to remember Kathy."

She added that the first night had gone very well, and the cast were looking forward to the rest of the run, which ends on Saturday. Tickets are still available for tonight, Friday, and tomorrow. For more information, contact Beryl Rigby on 261612.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.