Suranne Jones on why community theatre is so important

She and her husband, Laurence Akers, put down roots in the county around four years ago

'When me and my husband married we said we would love a place by the water and it took us 10 years, but then we decided let's do it,' she says.

'The food in Norfolk is amazing, and when we have local produce you can really tell. The pubs are great. There's just a really good community feel.

'We go back and forth because a lot of our work is in London and all over the country, but we feel very connected and grounded here, especially when everything's on screens and social media, it really helps you take a break and look out,' she says.

Earlier this year Suranne became president of Sheringham Little Theatre when Lady Walpole stepped down. Altogether and her late husband, Lord Robin Walpole, completed 50 years in the role.

The arts venue, run by Debbie Thompson, may be small, but it's mighty. It's one of the few theatres in the country which still has a summer repertory season (this year's shows included the chilling ghost story Turn of the Screw and the Alan Ayckbourn classic Relatively Speaking), and there's a year-round programme of entertainment including music, variety shows, pantomime and National Theatre screenings.

Suranne got to know Debbie after attending a couple of the theatre's Christmas pantomimes.

Suranne Jones at Sheringham Little Theatre. (Image: Andi Sapey) 'Debbie emailed me to say that I'd been spotted in the audience and asked would I be interested in meeting for a cup of tea,' says Suranne. 'She told me that the president of 50 years was hanging up their hat and asked would I be interested. We had a chat about what it would involve and then I said what I could do and that I wanted to be quite hands on, so I decided that I could cull some other commitments and concentrate on this.'

Debbie is thrilled that Suranne has come on board at the theatre. She says: 'It means the world to us at the Little Theatre to have Suranne as our president. She really understands community theatre and it is fantastic that she giving us so much of her time to support our work. We are so lucky and very honoured, she is amazing!'

And during the summer Suranne threw herself into the role, taking part in a Q&A at the theatre, hosting a fundraising evening at Sheringham Park, and running a theatre workshop for 11-16-year-olds.

Suranne's acting roots are in community theatre and nurturing the next generation of acting talent is something which is very important to her.

'We did two hours of back to basics with the youth group who I'd seen in the improvised Halloween show and in panto, so when they came in I recognised a few of them. We had a really fun morning,' she says.

'Youth theatre is where I came from - I did it from the age of eight and then I went into a choral group. I wasn't very happy at school, so that wasn't where I thrived, but once I found a theatre group I really came out of my shell. And I love teaching. When I left school I taught other kids and I did a lot of musical theatre classes as well. So this keeps my hand in and I love seeing me in them and letting them know what I do is possible for them as well.

'I was from Oldham, which isn't London and it's not Manchester, it isn't one of the bigger places and I think it's important to let everyone know that wherever you're from, there's a route.'

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Suranne's big break came when she was cast as Karen McDonald in Coronation Street. After four action-packed years on the cobbles, Suranne left the show and has gone on to become one of the biggest names on stage and screen. She's collaborated with Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright numerous times - on Dead Clever, Unforgiven, Scott and Bailey and Gentleman Jack - and played the lead in Doctor Foster and Vigil.

And soon she's going be appearing on our screens as the Prime Minister in new Netflix series The Choice.

From Gentleman Jack's Anne Lister, who was dubbed the first modern lesbian, to Gemma Foster (a role she won a Bafta for) to DCI Amy Silva in Vigil, Suranne has brought lots of fascinating, complex female characters to our screens.

And Suranne and her husband have formed a production company, TeamAkers, which is allowing her greater creative freedom in her career. Her two-part documentary, Suranne Jones: Investigating Witch Trials, inspired by the 17th century witch trials that happened near where she grew up, recently aired on Channel 4 to critical acclaim.

'I feel like it's allowed me to do stuff that I really want to do,' she says.

'I still get offers from other companies, but it's allowed me to work with the actors that I want to work with, the people that I have met along with way that I thought I would like to work with again. It's just given me a seat at the table that I can build on. I think you have to look to your future, and working with my husband is fabulous, it's really great.'

Would she like to make another documentary?

'My husband will probably concentrate on the documentary making and also, because I'm busy with drama as well, it would be nice to find other people who want to to tell their stories or the story of what they're fascinated with,' she says.

'We've got a couple more ideas, but it takes a long time to make a documentary. For this one we went to Salem and Germany and filmed it over the course of a year. We had to do it in breaks between other projects. I think I will go back to documentary and also I'd love to do stage again too - my husband produced Spy For Spy last year - but I'm booked up all of next year and into 2026 with three big dramas.'

Suranne Jones at Sheringham Little Theatre. (Image: Andi Sapey) Details of her upcoming projects have to remain tantalisingly under wraps for for now but, she says: 'I love that my life is a real mixed bag.'

Could she see any more collaborations with Sally Wainwright in the future?

'Not as yet, none of my productions are with Sally, but I know that she's doing a new show that's set in Hebden Bridge, that is called Riot Women, which sounds brilliant,' says Suranne. 'She told me about it when we were doing Gentleman Jack and it's about the menopause, so a lot of women will love it. She's amazing, brilliant.'

Some of Suranne's roles must be incredibly gruelling to film - Amy Silva has a particularly tough time of it in Vigil, How does she look after herself when she's playing such physically and mentally demanding roles?

'I think it's easier because I'm not with my family when I'm away filming, so I'm really disciplined, which is what I was saying to the kids at the workshop, it's about discipline,' she says. 'You get up, you have a good breakfast, you manage to exercise, I try and get a treadmill to walk on if I'm not managing to walk around the set because it can be quite sedentary. Also at my age you have to put the extra work in to look after yourself because 46 isn't 26.'

And when she's not filming, she cherishes her time with her husband and son.

'We like to travel, we've done a lot this summer,' she says.

And, of course, championing that small but mighty theatre on the Norfolk coast.

'It's so important for people to have access to the arts and Sheringham Little Theatre is the opposite to elitism, everyone's welcome and there's something for everybody here - Debbie creates a brilliant programme,' she says.

Sheringham Little Theatre is looking for local businesses to join its sponsorship scheme and support its work. There are three levels of membership: Footlight, Limelight and Spotlight. To find out more visit sheringhamlittletheatre.com, where you can also see what's coming up in the theatre's autumn/winter programme.

See exclusive pictures from Suranne's fundraising gala for the Little Theatre at Sheringham Park in the Society Diary pages of the November issue of Norfolk magazine.