Peter Hall (theatre director)
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| Peter Hall | |||||||
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| Born | November 22, 1930 Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England |
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| Occupation | Director | ||||||
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Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE (born 22 November 1930) is an English theatre and film director.
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[edit] Biography
From 1954 to 1955 he was at the Oxford Playhouse where he directed the young Ronnie Barker. In August 1955, he directed the English-language premiere of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at the Arts Theatre, London. During 1956-1959, he then ran that theatre.[1] He was at Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon for the 1957 to 1959 seasons.[1] There, his productions included: Cymbeline with Peggy Ashcroft; Coriolanus with Laurence Olivier and Edith Evans; and A Midsummer Night's Dream with Charles Laughton.
Hall is best known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company which he founded in 1960, at the age of only 29. He served as its artistic director from that time until 1968. He was director of the Royal National Theatre from 1973 to 1988 and was also a member of the Arts Council of Great Britain resigning in protest from both roles in protest over cuts in public funding. After leaving the National Theatre he founded his own company directing a series of productions at the Old Vic.
In 1990, at the Chichester Festival Theatre he directed Born Again, a musical version of Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros (play). For this Hall also wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the libretto with Julian Barry, for the music they hired British composer Jason Carr (it was Carr's first professional musical). Many years later one of the show's song's When I Was Out This Morning (with lyrics by Hall) was included on Carr's composer compilation album.
His latest project is as director of The Rose Theatre at Kingston upon Thames which due to open in 2007 and which draws design inspiration from The Rose theatre. In its basic shell prior to fit out, it has seen a sell out run of his production of As You Like It.
[edit] Personal Life
He was born in Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk, England and attended The Perse School, Cambridge. Hall learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his National Service. He produced and acted in several productions while at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 1953 from St Catharine's College. During the same year, he staged his first professional play at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.
He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1963 and in 1977 was knighted for his services to the theatre. In 1999, he was presented with a Laurence Olivier Award. He was appointed Chancellor of Kingston University in 2000.
Hall has been married four times, including marriages to the actress Leslie Caron, and the opera singer Maria Ewing. His diaries were published in 1983. One of his children is the actress Rebecca Hall and another is the director, Edward Hall.
[edit] Stage productions
- The Vortex (Noel Coward) November 13, 2007 - December 1, 2007 Theatre Royal Windsor. Currently in production.
- Amy's View (David Hare) November 28, 2006 - February 17, 2007
- Amadeus December 15, 1999 - May 14, 2000
- An Ideal Husband May 1, 1996 - Jan 26, 1997
- Four Baboons Adoring the Sun March 18, 1992 - April 19, 1992
- Born Again September 1990 Chichester Festival Theatre
- The Merchant of Venice December 19, 1989 - March 10, 1990
- Orpheus Descending September 24, 1989 - December 17, 1989
- Wild Honey December 18, 1986 - January 11, 1987
- The Petition April 24, 1986 - June 29, 1986
- Jean Seberg (world première at the Royal National Theatre) December 1, 1983 - April 4, 1984
- Amadeus (world première at the Royal National Theatre) December 17, 1980 - October 16, 1983
- Betrayal January 5, 1980 - May 31, 1980
- Bedroom Farce (Originally produced by The Royal National Theatre) March 29, 1979 - November 24, 1979
- No Man's Land (Originally produced by The Royal National Theatre) November 9, 1976 - December 18, 1976
- The Misanthrope (Originally produced by The Royal National Theatre) March 12, 1975 - May 31, 1975
- As You Like It (Produced by arrangement with The Royal National Theatre) December 3, 1974 - December 8, 1974
- Saturday Sunday Monday (Produced by arrangement with The Royal National Theatre) November 21, 1974 - November 30, 1974
- Via Galactica November 28, 1972 - December 2, 1972
- Old Times November 16, 1971 - February 26, 1972
- The Homecoming (Original production by Peter Hall; By arrangement with the Governors of The Royal Shakespeare Company) January 5, 1967 - October 14, 1967
- Waiting for Godot (English-language première) (at the Arts Theatre) August 1955
- Wars of the Roses, adaptation of the Henry VI and Richard III plays, the Royal Shakespeare Company 1963-1964
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hall, Peter (1993). Making an Exhibition of Myself: The Autobiography of Peter Hall. London: Sinclair-Stevenson, pp. 101, 435ff. ISBN 1840021152.
[edit] Further reading
- Pearson, Richard (1990). A Band of Arrogant and United Heroes. London: Adelphi Press. ISBN 1856540057.
[edit] External Links
- Peter Hall at the Internet Broadway Database
- Peter Hall at the Internet Movie Database
- Peter Hall video at the Peoples Archive
- Fathom biography
- Godot almighty by Peter Hall
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