The premiere of a play based on the writings of a talented young actress has boosted a memorial fund set up in her memory.

The Methodist Church in Chacombe, near Banbury, staged the first performances at the weekend of Sophie's Log, adapted from the writings of Sophie Large, who was killed in a car accident at the age of 19.

The book, based on her diaries and other writings, has already sold 5,000 copies and has helped raise £100,000 for a trust, the Sophie Silver Lining Fund, set up in her memory to help struggling young actors.

Her parents Stephen and Cherry, of Silver Street, Chacombe, attended the production on Saturday and Sunday.

Mrs Large said: "The chapel does not hold many people but there was standing room only. We were thrilled by it."

The show was adapted by playwright Bryan Willis, who lives in Seattle, USA, and came over for the performance. It is due to be staged at the Edinburgh Festival this year.

Also in the audience on Sunday was actor David Haig, who appeared in Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Thin Blue Line.

Sophie was killed in a car crash just a few miles from her home two years ago.

She was about to embark on a stage career, having set up her own theatre company.

In the adaptation, Sophie as a young girl was played by Tori Hart and also by Erin Hurme, an actress supported by the Sophie Silver Lining Fund.