Names on the buses

749 Thomas Batiste

Connections with Brighton and Hove : 1929–2018
Thomas Baptiste was a pioneering Guyanese-born British actor and opera singer. He transformed British arts and media by challenging racial inequality and expanding representation in the arts. His celebrated career spanned stage, screen, and opera. Thomas arrived in Britain in 1950, to study agriculture but took a factory job and began studying music at Morley College, London. He eventually earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, London. Although he began as an opera singer, he found few opportunities for Black performers in opera. His rich baritone and commanding presence led him to the stage. He was an early member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. He later worked with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was praised for the emotional realism he brought to characters such as Caliban in The Tempest, Orsino in Twelfth Night, and the Emperor in Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones. In the late 1960s, he played a key role in forming the Equity Advisory Committee to advocate for racially inclusive casting. His screen credits include Coronation Street (as its first Black character), the BBC's Fable, The Ipcress File, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the landmark drama Empire Road. On stage, he portrayed Robeson in Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? and appeared in early Harold Pinter work. Though he led a cosmopolitan life and moved in influential cultural circles, Thomas chose to retire in Hove around 2008. Drawn by the city's inclusive spirit, he remained a quietly engaged figure in the local arts scene, attending performances at venues like Brighton Open Air Theatre. He died aged 89, and his legacy lives on as a symbol of artistic courage, representation, and social change.

749 ADL Enviro400 - carried name since December 2025.