Mother and son to take on roles on Sheringham stage

Professional actor Oliver Westlake is preparing for his first-ever dame role as Little Jane in the Robin Hood panto, which opens in December.

His mother, Sarah, is currently rehearsing her character Doris, a lonely widow in Alan Bennett’s bittersweet comic monologue A Cream Cracker Under the Settee, in October.

Despite being only 28, Oliver is a seasoned performer who began acting in amateur shows 20 years ago before embarking on a drama career and qualifying as an actor in 2018.

Professional actor Oliver Westlake is gearing up for his first ever dame role (Image: Richard Batson / SLT)

He has since joined the panto casts at the Little Theatre and its sister St George’s in Great Yarmouth four times.

Oliver said: "I love panto.

"It’s so much fun, camp and ridiculous but also puts a social and political commentary on an old fairy tale.

"I have never played a panto dame before – though I played a similar part as Old Lady Squeamish in a drama school production of The Country Wife.

"I’m really looking forward to it, especially the flamboyant costumes and make-up."

Sarah’s dramatic dabblings began in London, but she switched to Sheringham when the family moved to Norfolk in 2001.

His “am-dram” mum Sarah is currently rehearsing her character Doris (Image: Richard Batson / SLT)

She has performed Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues before, including Cream Cracker 15 years ago, and is enjoying relearning it.

She said: "I like her.

"She’s very strong-willed but endearing as she reflects on her life and her fondness for her late husband."

Despite their shared love of the stage, Sarah and Oliver have only ever appeared together once, in C.S Lewis’s Shadowlands.

Robin Hood, written and directed by Nick Earnshaw, runs from December 13 to January 4.

Talking Heads in the Hub, a fundraiser event directed by Libby Henshaw, is on October 11-12.