Marie Crispin obituary

My mother, Marie Crispin, who has died aged 80, was an actor, teacher and activist. As Marie Seaborne, she acquired her Equity card in the late 1950s after joining the repertory company Osiris Rep, a pioneering and bohemian all-women theatre troupe that toured Britain and Ireland in a Rolls-Royce and an Austin Healey.

Led by its founder, Nancy Hewins, Osiris strove to take affordable theatre to far-flung communities; Nancy insisted on full greasepaint, and, behind the scenes, the actors bedded down in convents and halls, and took turns on the cooking rota.