Congratulations to actor and alumnus Tom Glenister (Tulley’s 2014) for his nomination in the 2025 prestigious Ian Charleson Awards.
The Ian Charleson Awards recognise and celebrate performers under 30 tackling a classical role. They were established by The Sunday Times and the National Theatre in recognition of actor Ian Charleson, who died of Aids in 1990 at the age of 40, just weeks after giving an astonishing final turn as Hamlet.
They describe the awards as "the award every young actor covets’" with a chance to follow in the footsteps of previous recipients including Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen McCrory and Eddie Redmayne.
Tom was nominated, alongside 12 other leading young actors, for his performance as Torvald in A Doll’s House at the Sheffield Crucible.
This Times article describes Tom’s first experience of acting while at Alleyn’s, as his inspiration to pursue acting. It says:
“Tom realised he wanted to be an actor when, aged 17, he auditioned for the role of Jean Valjean in a school production of Les Misérables and was instead cast as Thénardier. Despite the initial disappointment at not getting the lead, he “got all the laughs” and “shallowly thought, this is quite nice”."
The Scriblerus 2013 cast report by Harry Houseage (Brown's 2014) describes Tom as “absoutely smashing” his role in Les Misérables. “Between themselves, Georgia Edkins’ side-splitting portrayal of Madame Thénardier along with Tom’s hilarious aforementioned Monsieur Thénardier made the audience laugh as much as the rest of the cast made them weep.”
The last time Tom was involved in a play at Alleyn’s was after leaving school when he returned as Assistant Director alongside Alice Hoskyns (Brading's 2014) of Upper School Musical, Anything Goes, which coincidentally will return to Alleyn’s this November!
After leaving Alleyn’s, Tom trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has since given incredible performances on stage and screen, including Sherwood, Grantchester, One Life, Foxhole, and Dear Octopus.
Congratulations, Tom, on your nomination for these incredible awards!
Header image shows Tom and the cast of the 2013 Upper School Musical, Les Misérables.
The Alleyn's Schools Group
We are delighted that Oakfield Prep School will join the Alleyn’s Schools Group as Alleyn’s Oakfield from September 2025. Find out more about this new chapter for junior education in Dulwich.
Last updated on 17 06 2025 at 05:45
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