Peter Hall

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This article is about the British theatre director. For other people called Peter Hall see Peter Hall (disambiguation).

Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE (born 22 November, 1930) is an English theatre and film director.

He was born in Bury St. Edmunds, 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.

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. He was at Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon for the 1957 to 1959 seasons. 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.

His latest project is as director of The Rose of Kingston 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.

He was made a Commander 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.

Selected productions

• Amadeus Dec 15, 1999 - May 14, 2000
• An Ideal Husband May 1, 1996 - Jan 26, 1997
• Four Baboons Adoring the Sun Mar 18, 1992 - Apr 19, 1992
• The Merchant of Venice Dec 19, 1989 - Mar 10, 1990
• Orpheus Descending Sep 24, 1989 - Dec 17, 1989
• Wild Honey Dec 18, 1986 - Jan 11, 1987
• The Petition Apr 24, 1986 - Jun 29, 1986
• Amadeus (World premiere at The Royal National Theatre) Dec 17, 1980 - Oct 16, 1983
• Betrayal Jan 5, 1980 - May 31, 1980
• Bedroom Farce (Originally produced by The Royal National Theatre) Mar 29, 1979 - Nov 24, 1979
• No Man's Land (Originally produced by The Royal National Theatre) Nov 9, 1976 - Dec 18, 1976
• The Misanthrope (Originally produced by The Royal National Theatre) Mar 12, 1975 - May 31, 1975
• As You Like It (Produced by arrangement with The Royal National Theatre) Dec 3, 1974 - Dec 8, 1974
• Saturday Sunday Monday (Produced by arrangement with The Royal National Theatre) Nov 21, 1974 - Nov 30, 1974
• Via Galactica Nov 28, 1972 - Dec 2, 1972
• Old Times Nov 16, 1971 - Feb 26, 1972
• The Homecoming (Original production by Peter Hall; By arrangement with the Governors of The Royal Shakespeare Company) Jan 5, 1967 - Oct 14, 1967
• Waiting For Godot (English-language premiere) (at the Arts Theatre) Aug 1955

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