My mother, Elizabeth Kay, who has died aged 97, made her West End debut playing Ismene in Laurence Olivier’s celebrated production of Oedipus Rex at the Old Vic in 1945-46.
Born in Worthing, West Sussex, to Florence (nee Osborn) and Jim Smith, who ran a radio repair business, Elizabeth went to Varndean grammar school, Brighton. When she was small, Jim discovered communism and was an active member of the Brighton branch of the Communist party of Great Britain; when she was old enough, Elizabeth accompanied him on demonstrations. She also developed a passion for acting and won a scholarship to Rada when she was 16. She used her middle name Osman as her stage surname.
