Gareth began his studies at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Bloomsbury, London) in July 1964. In his first year there he played the following Shakespearean roles, amongst others: Shepherd and Second Lord in The Winter’s Tale (Summer 1964); Iago and Roderigo in Othello (Autumn 1964); and Feste in Twelfth Night (Spring 1965). His first term report (Summer 1964) describes him as “a natural actor […], most promising, inventive, and intelligent […] with “a warm, lively personality”. The summarising comment reads thus: “A talented student who should do extremely well when the lessons of technique have all been learnt.”

All images on this page are reproduced with the kind permission of Linda Thomas. The scrapbook from which this section has drawn material was created by Annie Novac, to whom the creator of this website is deeply grateful.

In the Spring of 1965, Gareth had the role of Fluellen in a RADA production of Henry V which formed part of the Southwark Shakespeare Festival. There is a programme:

In Gareth’s second year at RADA, he performed over a dozen roles. Highlights include Benvolio in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, of which there is a video recording (available on DVD: details of the production can be found on IMDb here). A photo of some of the cast (taken on the roof of the old RADA building) exists:

Michael Rooney (Paris); Gareth Thomas (Benvolio); Collette Gleeson; Paul (last name not known); William Corderoy; Louise Pajo; Veronica Clifford (Nurse); Iain Wilson (Capulet); Suna Palamutcuogullari; June Mars

Also during his second year, Gareth was awarded the RADA Hannam-Clark Prize for Diction in relation to Character Dialect:

A RADA production of Arrabal’s Fando and Lis was performed during that period, in which Gareth played Namur. The Assistant Stage Manager was Peter Egan, and Kenneth Cranham was also in the cast:

There is a photograph from this production:

In the same term (Autumn 1965), there was a RADA production of Saint Joan (George Bernard Shaw) which was performed in a variety of venues across the country. Gareth played Monseigneur de la Tremouille and the English Soldier. Programmes for four of these short runs exist.

The first is from RADA’s own Vanbrugh Theatre. Fans of Blake’s 7 might be interested to see who played Joan:

The second is from a co-production with the Croydon College of Art:

The third is from a performance in Chelmsford Cathedral (again with Jan Chappell in the title role):

And the fourth took place in Southport:

In December of 1965, Gareth appeared in two RADA productions: Euripedes’ The Trojan Women, in which he played the herald Talthybius, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in which he played Laertes.

There are some photographs from The Trojan Women:

Gareth Thomas; Cecilia Derby; John Carter

The programme for The Trojan Women:

The programme for Hamlet:

Gareth’s sixth term at RADA began in early 1966. He played Valery in Look After Lulu by Noel Coward, for which there is a programme:

The next production in which Gareth appeared that term was Harold Pinter’s A Night Out, in which he played Gidney:

Michael Rooney; Kenneth Cranham; Gareth Thomas

John Railton; John Carter; William Corderoy; Gareth Thomas

In No No Nanette (Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel), Gareth was a member of the Chorus:

In Live Like Pigs (by John Arden), Gareth played a character called Black Mouth:

Peter Gordon; Gareth Thomas

Peter Gordon; Gareth Thomas; Libby Glen

There is a review (source unknown) singling out Gareth’s work for particular praise:

And a programme:

In Gareth’s 7th and last term at RADA, he played Angelo in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure:

Gareth’s final role as a RADA student was Lance Corporal Macleish in The Long and the Short and the Tall by Willis Hall:

Gareth’s own annotations are on the back cover of the programme (see above)

Gareth graduated from RADA in the summer of 1966:

Gareth’s final RADA report (Summer term 1966) is full of praise: “Very talented – great power and sympathy as an actor”, with the Principal’s summarising comment: “He has done some excellent, widely contrasted work in public shows, and he would be, both personally and professionally, an asset to any Company. I hope he achieves the success he richly deserves.”