Veteran theatre producer Thelma Holt discusses the past and future with Andrew Dickson.
"My life and times?" says Thelma Holt. "I love talking, but" – her voice drops – "I'd much rather talk about other people." She smiles. In the previous 15 minutes, Holt has related one story about a fellow theatre producer (unprintable), two stories about a theatre owner (possibly libellous), a yarn about an encounter with the crown prince of Japan (probable diplomatic incident) and a saga that swerves from the crisis in Gaza to David Cameron's taste in suits. It might be better to stick with the life and times, I say. She rolls her eyes theatrically, and her voice plunges to Lady Bracknell-like depths. "Well, darling. If you must."
She may be a little unsteady on her feet these days, the flame-coloured hair a little thinner than it was, but Holt, now 82, has lost none of her ability to command attention. She learned the skill early, as a young Rada graduate in the 1950s. And it has proved useful when she left acting to become an impresario and producer, one of the most influential in the business. Theatre is hardly known for its shrinking violets, but few people can boast both of having played Lady Macbeth in a transparent nightie (and afterwards debating it on TV with Mary Whitehouse) then been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for contributions to Japanese drama. And that's not to mention the epic rows with Robert Maxwell, treasurer when Holt ran London's Roundhouse in the late 1970s. "I've been so very lucky, you know," Holt says: "If you want it badly enough you'll get it... Keep reading on The Guardian
"My life and times?" says Thelma Holt. "I love talking, but" – her voice drops – "I'd much rather talk about other people." She smiles. In the previous 15 minutes, Holt has related one story about a fellow theatre producer (unprintable), two stories about a theatre owner (possibly libellous), a yarn about an encounter with the crown prince of Japan (probable diplomatic incident) and a saga that swerves from the crisis in Gaza to David Cameron's taste in suits. It might be better to stick with the life and times, I say. She rolls her eyes theatrically, and her voice plunges to Lady Bracknell-like depths. "Well, darling. If you must."
She may be a little unsteady on her feet these days, the flame-coloured hair a little thinner than it was, but Holt, now 82, has lost none of her ability to command attention. She learned the skill early, as a young Rada graduate in the 1950s. And it has proved useful when she left acting to become an impresario and producer, one of the most influential in the business. Theatre is hardly known for its shrinking violets, but few people can boast both of having played Lady Macbeth in a transparent nightie (and afterwards debating it on TV with Mary Whitehouse) then been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for contributions to Japanese drama. And that's not to mention the epic rows with Robert Maxwell, treasurer when Holt ran London's Roundhouse in the late 1970s. "I've been so very lucky, you know," Holt says: "If you want it badly enough you'll get it... Keep reading on The Guardian