H. M. Tennent

Who was H. M. Tennent?

Henry Moncrieff Tennent, commonly known as H.M. Tennent or Harry Tennent, was a British theatrical producer, impresario and songwriter. From 1929 to 1933 he mentored Binkie Beaumont, having previously worked with him in Cardiff. When Tennent, already the general manager at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and assistant managing director of Moss Empires, persuaded the boards of Moss Empires and of Howard & Wyndham to amalgamate, in order the better to produce serious theatre, it was Tennent and Beaumont who became the new company's two chief executives.

Their first production at the Queen's Theatre in 1936 was a failure, but later that year they formalised their partnership as the production company 'HM Tennent Ltd', with offices on the top floor of the Globe Theatre, and went on to great success. On Tennent's death of a heart attack in 1941, Beaumont found he was unmentioned in Tennent's will, but nevertheless took over as managing director and the sole head of the company.