Thea Holme (nee Johnston, 1904–1980) was a British actress and writer. Holme was born Thea Johnston in 1904. Her father was the architect Philip Mainwaring Johnston. She studied art at

The Slade The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

and then theatre at the Central School of Drama. She made her professional stage debut in 1924 as

Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...

in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', at the Richmond Theatre. She was in repertory at the

Oxford Playhouse The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road (Oxford), W ...

, where her husband Stanford Holme was producer, in the 1930s. She performed for both the

Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (lat ...

and the BBC Repertory Company during World War II, as well as directing at the

Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London, established in 1932. Originally known for its Shakespearean productions, the theatre now features a wide variety of performances, including musicals, ope ...

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

. Holme also appeared for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television in several adaptations of classic novels including ''

The Warden ''The Warden'' is a novel by English author Anthony Trollope published by Longman in 1855. It is the first book in the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, followed by '' Barchester Towers''. Synopsis Mr Septimus Harding is the meek, widowed ...

'', ''Emma'', ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

'' and ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'', or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'', is the third novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his ...

''. She was also a dramatist, adapting works for stage and radio, including Jane Austen's ''Mansfield Park'' and ''Northanger Abbey''. She subsequently moved with her husband to

Carlyle's House Carlyle's House, in Cheyne Row, Chelsea, central London, was the home of the Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane from 1834 until his death. The home of these writers was purchased by public subscripti ...

Cheyne Row Cheyne Row is a residential street in Chelsea, London. It runs roughly north to south from the crossroads with Upper Cheyne Row, where it becomes Glebe Place, leading down to a t-junction with Cheyne Walk which forms an embankment of the Ri ...

, Chelsea, London, when he became its curator, working for the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. She took up writing, beginning with a book about the lives of

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

and his wife

Jane Welsh Carlyle Jane Baillie Carlyle (' Welsh; 14 July 1801 – 21 April 1866) was a Scottish writer and the wife of Thomas Carlyle. She did not publish any work in her lifetime, but she was widely seen as an extraordinary letter writer. Virginia Woolf ca ...

at the house, ''The Carlyles at Home'' (1965). She appeared as a castaway on the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 4 October 1969, and was made a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

. She died in 1980. An obituary was published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' on 9 December. Her husband survived her, as did their son, Timothy Holme, an author of fiction.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* 1904 births Place of birth missing 1980 deaths Place of death missing 20th-century English actresses British non-fiction writers Writers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Actresses from London People from Chelsea, London Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea {{UK-stage-actor-stub