SIXTY years since Eve Gurd first took to the stage she is still full of the vigour and excitement for performing that she showed when she was ten.
Mrs Gurd, of Wollaton, is a long-standing member of the Nottingham Arts Theatre, based in George Street, where she first performed in 1953.
Next week the 70-year-old will don a nun's habit and entertain audiences in the company's production of The Sound Of Music.
But Eve didn't start out her theatre life as an actress.
The mother of three, who worked as a laboratory technician at the University of Nottingham in her younger years, said: "I started at the Arts Theatre as part of the junior group when I was ten. In October 1953 we performed the opera Hugh The Drover by Ralph Vaughan Williams and he actually came to see our performance himself.
"To begin with, my background was in ballet."
Eve entered the stage properly when she was about 18 in musicals and as part of the chorus. Her inspiration came from her family.
She said: "My mother and father were very involved in the theatre. My father designed the sets and my mother made the costumes.
"I continued being in choruses, musicals and pantomimes and choreographed one of the first performances of My Fair Lady."
Eve met her husband Peter at the theatre in 1966 while they were both performing in Kismet. They married a year later in 1967 and then had three children: Judith, 41, Jonathan, 40, and Andrew, 37.
Eve took park in shows with the theatre ever year, ranging from one performance a year when she was bringing up her children to three of four after they grew up.
She added: "I got into acting by the back door really, being asked to do a few lines here and there. My favourite performance was probably when I was in Carmen – there are so many costume changes from being a cigarette girl, to a smuggler, to spectating at a bull fight.
"Being in the theatre is something which just grabs you. I have a loyalty to this theatre because of my history with it and I have learned so much from the excellent actors here. I don't plan on stopping acting any time soon, there is always another show around the corner."
The director of the upcoming performance The Sound Of Music, Maggie Andrew, said Eve was an inspirational actress who had made a huge impact on the Arts Theatre community.
Miss Andrew of West Bridgford said: "When I first joined the Arts Theatre, Eve was a very prominent member of the cast. When we have new members, Eve is always there to welcome people."
She added: "Eve is an amazing lady with a great amount of talent. She is just outstanding and a real inspiration. It is great to learn from people like Eve."
The Sound Of Music will be performed at the Arts Theatre in George Street from Tuesday, July 2, until Sunday, July 7, at 7.30pm each day. There will be matinee performances on the Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets will be available on the door or in advance from the company's website, www.nottingham-theatre.co.uk
