Lifetime award for director Debbie

Take a bow theatre director Debbie Thompson. Her tireless energy, enthusiasm, commitment and creativity have been recognised with a lifetime achievement accolade in the Norfolk Arts Awards.

Debbie, whose career spans nearly 40 years, was chosen for the honour through a public vote. It comes as she reaches the personal milestone of her 60th birthday in October, but assures she has still got plenty more to give.

She has been at the Little Theatre for 22 years, and has been part-time director at St George’s Theatre in Yarmouth since 2016.

Reflecting on the award Debbie said: “I am delighted and extremely honoured to win this award, up against some very worthy nominees. And it is all the more pleasing because it is a public vote, which I think also recognises the work of both theatres, which have been through some challenging times in recent years .”

After 10 years as a professional actor, her career also included work doing theatre PR, stage management and teaching.

“My current job requires energy, diplomacy, communication skills and resilience for long anti-social hours. The busy times are traditionally when everyone else is on holiday but the most important thing is that if you have passion for what you do and really love it doesn’t seem like work.”

Her own personal highlights have included being the runner-up in the National Lottery awards for an intergenerational community project which saw young people teaching older folk to rap, while the seniors taught the youngsters how to write poetry.

Others were meeting Monty Python star and travel presenter Michael Palin at a fundraising event he hosted at the theatre, and more recently when actor Suranne Jones agreed to be the new president of the theatre.

She also takes great pleasure from the pantos, summer drama and youth productions.

Debbie moved to Honing in North Norfolk when she was five, attending the village primary school, North Walsham High School for Girls, City College, and Loughborough University for a degree in drama before training at the Drama Studio, London. .

She met husband Simon at Sheringham Little Theatre when they were thrown together in the cast of a 1992 summer season drama then later moved back to Norfolk to raise their family.

Her award will take pride of place in the venue’s trophy cabinet where there is already a hat trick of Norfolk Arts Awards.

But she is adamant the latest one does not signal the final curtain for her career, adding “I am looking forward to continuing to develop the theatre and moving forward with lots more new ideas. That – and the fact no day is ever the same – is what is so exciting.”

Read more about Debbie’s career here