Debbie needs your vote

1st May 2024

Debbie up for top arts award – and she needs your votes

We are delighted to announce that St George’s Theatre director Debbie Thompson has been nominated for a lifetime achievement accolade at the annual Norfolk Arts Awards.

And your vote could help her secure this much-deserved recognition – for transforming the fortunes of St George’s and for her energetic work in the county’s theatre scene.

Her love of acting started at primary school, led to her performing in a farce at the Edinburgh Fringe, to Loughborough University for a drama degree, to the Drama Studio in London and then ten years as an actor in the West End. She and her husband Simon, an actor and director, subsequently trained as teachers and moved to Norfolk to raise a family.

Debbie, who is also director at Sheringham Little Theatre, is widely admired by colleagues at art venues throughout the county for her collaborative and supportive spirit. She has been at the heart of St George’s Theatre’s revival as a community theatre since 2016 and has established a synergy between Sheringham and St George’s, sharing ideas and productions. She is passionate about involving as wide a range of people as possible into the theatre. In Great Yarmouth this includes encouraging young people to take part in our popular pantomime, and supporting youth and adult theatre groups, the community choir and the social clubs and charities that use the café.

Debbie and her small team of staff and volunteers have brought the heart and soul back to St George’s, staging everything from concerts and comedy to tribute bands and drama, drawing new audiences to the all-year-round theatre and, in the process, improving its once precarious financial position.

You can vote for Debbie before the 5pm deadline on Friday May 31 by visiting

Finalists will be announced in July and the winners awarded their prizes in the autumn.