Thelma Holt


Thelma Holt is a British theatre producer and former actress.
After a successful career as an actress, in partnership with Charles Marowitz, Thelma founded the Open Space Theatre in Tottenham Court Road, London, which became the forerunner of the London fringe. In 1977, joined The Round House in Chalk Farm as Artistic and Executive Director. There she instigated a policy of bringing the best of regional theatre to London: Citizens Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre Company, Stephen Joseph Theatre Company, Scarborough.
She gave London the opportunity to see some of the successful productions initiated at the Edinburgh Festival. Other visiting companies included: Josef Szanja, The Pickle Family Circus, Circus Oz, Antoine Vitez, Rustaveli Theatre Company.
From 1977–83 Holt was artistic director at the Round House. In 1983 The Round House closed and Thelma Holt joined the Theatre of Comedy as executive producer, where she produced Loot by Joe Orton, directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Leonard Rossiter.

Work with the National Theatre

In 1985 Holt joined the National Theatre as head of Touring and Commercial Exploitation. She was responsible for the following NT West End transfers: A Chorus of Disapproval, The Petition, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Three Men on a Horse and A View from the Bridge. She was also responsible for major tours of National Theatre productions to: Paris, Vienna, Zurich, North America, Moscow, Tbilisi, Tokyo, Epidavros.
Holt produced INTERNATIONAL 87, a series of four visits to the National Theatre by international theatre companies: The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill directed by Peter Stein, Miss Julie by August Strindberg and Hamlet by William Shakespeare both directed by Ingmar Bergman, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Medea by Euripides both directed by Yukio Ninagawa, Tomorrow was War by the Mayakovsky Theatre Company from Moscow. For this international season Holt received the Olivier/Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Theatre and a special award from Drama Magazine. In 1998 she co-produced The Fairy-Queen by Purcell, directed by Adrian Noble for the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
Thelma Holt produced INTERNATIONAL 89, a second series of four visits to the National Theatre by international theatre companies: Tango Varsoviano by Teatro del Sur, Grapes of Wrath by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov from the Moscow Art Theatre and Suicide for Love the return of the Ninagawa Theatre Company.

Work with the Peter Hall Company

For the newly formed Peter Hall Company, Holt was Executive Producer for: Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams, presented at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare presented at the Phoenix Theatre, London and in New York, The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen presented at the Phoenix Theatre, London.
Holt was executive producer for Triumph Proscenium's production of Pirandello's Henry IV starring Richard Harris, which was presented in 1990 at Wyndham's Theatre, London. In 1990 she also presented two visiting productions at the National Theatre: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Kingdom of Desire based on Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Thelma Holt Limited

1990–1999

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2002/03
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2017
2018
; Commonwealth honours

Foreign honours

; Foreign honours

Scholastic

; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships

Honorary Degrees

;Honorary degrees