Nick Thomas (theatre producer)

Last updated

Nick Thomas
Born (1959-12-16) 16 December 1959 (age 64)
Blandford Forum, Dorset, England
Occupation Theatre producer

Nicholas Jeffrey Thomas MBE (born 16 December 1959) is a British entertainment entrepreneur and an Olivier-award-winning theatre producer. He is the founder, Chairman and joint-owner with his wife Sandra, of Qdos Entertainment Ltd (Qdos), whose subsidiaries include Five Star Collection Ltd, Adverset Media Solutions and Q Talent Ltd. [1] In March 2021, Nick & Sandra sold HQ Theatres & Hospitality Ltd to Trafalgar Entertainment Group led by Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire, partnered with Barings, the global investment pension fund manager. In April 2021 Nick & Sandra Thomas sold Qdos Entertainment (Pantomimes) Ltd to Crossroads Live Holdings UK Ltd Live entertainment acquisition vehicle partnered in the US by Raven Capital Management LLC, and chaired in the UK by David Ian.

Contents

Since its inception, The Stage newspaper annual 'Stage 100' has accredited Thomas as one of the top 100 most influential people in British Theatre. In 2018, he was ranked 13th in the list, [2] and his highest position was 5th in 2008. [3]

In 2017, Thomas was the Executive Producer, alongside Qdos Entertainment Managing Director Michael Harrison, for Qdos' production of Dick Whittington at The London Palladium. The show was nominated for, and won, the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment & Family at the 2018 Olivier Awards.

Thomas was first listed in Who's Who in 2013. He is a Vice President of The Royal Variety Charity [4] which organises The Royal Variety Performance.

Performing career, 1970s–1980s

Thomas created the puppet act 'Tommer Puppets' in 1973. [5] In 1975, aged 15, his act won Episode 22, Series 3 of the ATV Network series New Faces. The show was broadcast on 15 February 1975, and the Winners Show on 8 March, which was won by the late Al Dean, a Liverpool comedian. The Chuckle Brothers (working then as Paul & Barry Harman), and Lenny Henry were also on the Winner's Show. This marked the start of Thomas' professional career; he left school in 1975 and subsequently appeared in shows with Dick Emery, Mike & Bernie Winters, Ronnie Dukes & Ricky Lee, The Nolans, Cilla Black, Lena Zavaroni and Larry Grayson. His act also appeared on many cruise liners in Rey Grey Revues, including Lauro Lines 'Angelina Lauro' Chandris Lines 'Amerikanis', 'Britannis', and Costa Lines 'Eugenio C'. [6]

Producing career

Pantomimes

Thomas began producing pantomimes at The Charter Theatre Preston in 1982. [5] In 1999 he bought E&B Productions (Theatre) Ltd, [6] a rival pantomimes producer. In 2003 he bought Midas Productions Ltd a second rival producer. [7] Qdos Entertainment (Pantomimes) Ltd is now the world's largest producer of pantomimes.

In the 2017-2018 season the company produced 35 pantomimes at theatres across Britain, including His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen, and the Grand Opera House in Belfast. [8]

In April 2021, Nick & Sandra Thomas sold Qdos Pantomimes Ltd to Crossroads Live Holdings UK Ltd Live entertainment acquisition vehicle partnered in the US by Raven Capital Management LLC, and chaired in the UK by David Ian.

Pantomime at the London Palladium

In 2016 Thomas was Executive Producer for the Qdos production of Cinderella – the first pantomime to be produced at the London Palladium for almost 30 years. [9] The show received two Olivier-award nominations in the Best Entertainment & Family and Best Costume Design categories at the 2017 Olivier Awards. [10]

In 2017 Thomas was Executive Producer for the Qdos Production of Dick Whittington at the London Palladium. The show won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family at the 2018 Olivier Awards at an awards ceremony at The Royal Albert Hall on 8 April 2018. [11]

In 2018 Snow White starred Dawn French, Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers, Gary Wilmot, Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace.

In 2019 Goldilocks and the Three Bears starred Paul O'Grady, Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers, Gary Wilmot and Janine Duvitski.

In 2020 Pantoland at the Palladium starred Julian Clary, Ashley Banjo & Diversity, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers, Gary Wilmot, Charlie Stemp, Jac Yarrow & Beverley Knight.

Co-producing career

Cruise Line Productions

Thomas' Qdos Entertainment (Productions) Ltd has produced extensively on Cruise Ships, for a number of different operators. These include:

Regional theatre operations career

In 2005, Thomas formed HQ Theatres Ltd (HQT) a joint venture between Qdos and Hetherington Seelig Theatres, which at the time operated the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon and The Swan Theatre, High Wycombe. Qdos went on to buy out Hetherington Seelig's shareholding in 2007. After a period of significant growth, the group is now the second largest regional theatre operator in the UK with a total of 12 venues under its management. [16]. [14]

Talent agency career

Restaurants and hotel career

Thomas also operates a portfolio of restaurants, pubs and accommodation. These include:

Charitable work and organisational affiliations

He is a fundraiser for Great Ormond Street Hospital and through his businesses has raised in excess of £1.2m for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity. [23] In 2017, Qdos Entertainment was included in the Friends of Adeona, a list recognizing those fundraisers whose activities have had the greatest impact on the hospital's work, which is the highest form of recognition that Great Ormond Street Hospital can bestow upon its supporters.

Thomas is a member of The Ivy Club, the Arts Club, Groucho Club and Soho House.

Personal life

Thomas was born in Blandford Forum Dorset, the son of a garage proprietor Douglas William Thomas, and the youngest of five children.

In 1966 his family moved to Formby in Merseyside and, in 1967, to Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His first visit to a theatre was in 1967 to see 'The Bachelors Show' at The Futurist Theatre Scarborough. [5] In 1970 he met Ken Dodd at The Futurist Theatre (after a show in which his wife-to-be was a Diddyman) and began a lifelong friendship with the entertainer. Dodd's early influence is credited by Thomas as his inspiration to start a career in show business. Thomas penned a tribute to Dodd in The Stage newspaper when the entertainer died in 2018.

Thomas attended Gladstone Road Junior School 1967-1971 and Scarborough High School for Boys (renamed Graham School) 1971-1975. [5]

Thomas was married to Sandra Jane Thomas in 1985. They had their first child Verity in 1987 and their second child Christie in 1991. The couple have two grandchildren, Rupert, born 2014, Cecilia, born 2017, Avery, born 2021 and Violet, born 2022. The family have homes in Scarborough, London, Cornwall and Estepona Spain.

Thomas was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to the entertainment industry and charity. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Palladium</span> West End theatre in London

The London Palladium is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many with televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 Sunday Night at the London Palladium was staged at the venue, produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by the Beatles on 13 October 1963. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the increasingly hysterical interest in the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Garcia</span> Australian actor and tap dancer

Adam Garcia is an Australian stage, television, and film actor who is best known for lead roles in musicals such as Saturday Night Fever and Kiss Me, Kate. He is also a trained tap dancer and singer. Garcia has been nominated twice at the Laurence Olivier Awards in 1999 and 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre Royal Stratford East</span> Theatre in London, England

The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose statue is outside the theatre.

<i>Singin in the Rain</i> (musical) 1983 stage musical adapted from the 1952 film of the same name

Singin' in the Rain is a stage musical with story by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, the plot closely adheres to the original. Set in Hollywood in the waning days of the silent screen era, it focuses on romantic lead Don Lockwood, his sidekick Cosmo Brown, aspiring actress Kathy Selden, and Lockwood's leading lady Lina Lamont, whose less-than-dulcet vocal tones make her an unlikely candidate for stardom in talking pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Hippodrome</span>

The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.

<i>The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas</i> Stage musical

The Rat Pack - Live From Las Vegas is a stage musical produced by Flying Music Group Ltd. The stage show was conceived and created by Mitch Sebastian, who was also the show's director and choreographer.

Harold Owen "Gary" Wilmot, MBE is a British singer, actor, comedian, presenter, writer and director who rose to fame as a contestant on New Faces. As a television presenter, he is best known as the host of You and Me, So You Want To Be Top and Showstoppers. His West End credits include Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Prince of Egypt, and Wicked.

Janie Dee is a British actress. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer, for her performance as Jacie Triplethree in Alan Ayckbourn's Comic Potential.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyvern Theatre</span>

The Wyvern Theatre in central Swindon, Wiltshire, England, opened in 1971. It is managed on behalf of Swindon Borough Council by Trafalgar Entertainment. The auditorium has 635 seats, all designed to be within 70 feet of the stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Futurist Theatre</span> Theatre in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England

The Futurist Theatre was a theatre and cinema in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It was located on Foreshore Road, on the sea front of the South Bay.

Tim Firth is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter.

George Black was a British theatrical impresario who controlled many entertainment venues during the 1930s and 1940s and was a pioneer of the motion picture business.

Paul Zerdin is a British comedian and ventriloquist from London. He was the winner of the 10th season of America's Got Talent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Waddingham</span> British actress and television presenter (born 1974)

Hannah Waddingham is a British actress, singer and television presenter. She is known for playing businesswoman Rebecca Welton in the comedy series Ted Lasso (2020–2023), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2021 and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2021 and 2022.

Brendan Sheerin is a British International Tour Guide, television personality, pantomime actor and author, who appeared on the reality TV show Coach Trip on Channel 4.

Qdos Entertainment was one of the largest entertainment groups in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal & Derngate</span> Theatre in Northampton

Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre, Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Filmhouse. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years later in 1983, Derngate, designed by RHWL, was built to the rear of the Royal. Whilst the two theatres were physically linked, they did not combine organisations until a formal merger in 1999; they are run by the Northampton Theatres Trust. The Royal Theatre, established as a producing house, has a capacity of 450 seats and since 1976 has been designated a Grade II listed building; Derngate Theatre seats a maximum of 1,200 and is a multi-purpose space in which the auditorium can be configured for a variety of events including theatre, opera, live music, dance, fashion and sports. The Northampton Filmhouse, an independent cinema built to the side of the complex, opened in 2013.

David Peter S. Witts is a British actor and model, best known for his portrayal of Joey Branning in the British television soap opera EastEnders, in which he appeared from 2012 to 2013.

<i>Peter Pan Goes Wrong</i> Play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields

Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a comedy play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of the Mischief Theatre company, creators of The Play That Goes Wrong (2012).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Hurst</span> Actor

Neil Hurst is an actor and presenter born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England best known for his television and stage theatre career.

References

  1. ↑ "About Qdos Entertainment" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Stage 100: 11-20". The Stage.
  3. ↑ "Stage 100: Who'll be number one?". The Stage. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "EABF Management". Archived from the original on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Futurist Questions to Nick Thomas" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  6. 1 2 "LinkedIn" . Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Nick Thomas and the Cooper Horse" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Qdos Pantomimes" . Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "30 years on, panto returns to London Palladium | News | The Stage". The Stage. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Olivier Awards 2017: the nominations in full". The Stage. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Olivier Awards 2018: Winners in full". BBC News. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Celebrity Cruises' Shows Step it up a Notch" . Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Dancers set for cruise liner performances". The Scarborough News. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "About HQ Theatres & Hospitality" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "We still like to be beside the seaside" . The Independent. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Purchases put Qdos third in UK regions". The Stage. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "About Qtalent" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Under new management" . Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "North Yorkshire restaurant guide - The Copper Horse, Seamer". Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "The Tanglewood, York". Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  21. ↑ Stirk, Annie (10 April 2014). "Yorkshire Life Luncheon - The Copper Horse, Seamer, Scarborough".
  22. ↑ Jeffels, David (29 November 2013). "£1 million makeover for Crown & Cushion in Welburn" . Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  23. ↑ "Qdos Entertainment Raises over £700,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital" . Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  24. ↑ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.