It tells the story of a "good ol' gal and bor" approaching the end of their lives, and it will mark a return to the stage for a Norfolk theatre company.

fEAST theatre's first production as the lockdown restrictions ease will be Dulcie and Walter, which is described as an "intimate portrait of a couple approaching the end of their lives in a remote Norfolk farmhouse."

The play was written by Catherine Herman, who attended Great Yarmouth High School and went onto work in health and education before returning to her first love, theatre, in her sixties.

Ms Herman was originally going to play the part of Dulcie throughout the tour, but she was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2020 and is currently receiving treatment.

Although she is hoping to play the role for some performances, Dulcie will also be portrayed by Suffolk-based actress Barbara Horne, a regular in Jill Freud’s Southwold Summer Theatre.

Ms Herman said: "My treatment has led to us revising the original plan for me to perform Dulcie throughout the tour.

"I am so pleased that Barbara has joined the company to hopefully enable me to perform at some venues and to share the tour."

She said her characters: "reflected a generation who Norfolk people will recognise for their humour, guts and storytelling. They're a good ol' gal and bor'.

"A generation that can seem unsentimental to current sensibilities, but who lived in respectful harmony with the land and animals and made full use of scarce resources. Dulcie is a 'shocker' but I think she is a force of nature."

Dawn Finnerty, fEAST's director, said the play was "a profound, life-affirming and hilarious play about the sacrifices women make, growing old and staying wild, and chewin’ the cud over a nice bowl of lamb stew."

Performance dates include: Wells Maltings, June 18, 19; Aylsham Town Hall, June 23, 24; The Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft, June 25; The Cut, Halesworth, June 26; Beccles Public Hall, June 29; The Garage, Norwich, June 30 and July 1; Sheringham Little Theatre, July 2; Southwold Arts Centre, July 3; St Georges, Great Yarmouth, July 7; Corn Hall, Diss, July 8; Sedgefield Village Hall, July 9; Westacre Theatre, July 10.