Raymond Sargent
Raymond Sargent was born Leslie Raymond Thomas on 2 October 1952 in Poole, Dorset, England. He studied at Mountview Theatre School in London and became an actor, musician, and writer who was known for his one-man show Two Victorian Tales.
As an actor, he appeared in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, 1968), Rhinoceros, and The Beaux’ Stratagem (Nuffield Theatre, Southampton). He also toured the UK with Tomfoolery, The Hollow Crown, and A Bedfull of Foreigners, and he performed in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, playing saxophone and Norman Petty.
Sargent had small TV roles in The Two Ronnies, Blake’s 7, and Doctor Who. He created several one-man shows. His adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s The Three Strangers premiered at the 1990 Hardy Festival and later became the second half of Two Victorian Tales, paired with Dickens’ The Signalman. The project was originally planned for four actors, but funding led him to perform it solo. He also toured two shows about T. E. Lawrence: The Warrior and the Poet, and Amateurs All about Lawrence’s relationship with Hardy.
Beyond acting, Sargent was a folk dance caller and ceilidh dancer. He helped choreograph dances for London Weekend Television’s adaptation of Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge. He was a self-taught musician who played the saxophone, recorder, and other instruments. He wrote music for his shows and contributed to projects like New Music for the River Stour, and he played in a medieval trio and a ceilidh band. He read for BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please.
Sargent was married to Julia Thomas, and they had one daughter. He died of stomach cancer on 9 March 2008.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:51 (CET).