Remembering Peter Hall
Wed 13 Sep 2017The sad news of the death of Sir Peter Hall caused me to look back over my own time in the theatre. This began in 1976, just before the National Theatre opened in its (then) new home on London’s South Bank. Peter Hall, following on from distinguished years co-running the Royal Shakespeare Company, was its first Artistic Director. In that role he was also the NT’s first Chief Executive and faced immediate challenges in establishing an artistic programme, settling a new staff, sorting out a new and technically complex building, keeping a distinguished Board of worthies (and their Government “advisors”) happy, and justifying the immense sums of public money put into the project. In my view he largely succeeded and is one of the few truly great theatre people who I was privileged to have in my professional world.
As current NT Artistic Director Rufus Norris has commented, we all stand on the shoulders of our predecessors. Peter Hall’s were substantial. His legacy, his rugged style, his dogged determination to overcome all obstacles in the way of theatrical success influence all of us charged with running theatres today. Our successors will also benefit and I hope will hold him in the same awe as I do.
Peter Hall and Michael Bryant. Late Shakespeare Season 1988. Photo by John Haynes.
If you don’t believe any of this, consider also that he directed the first production of Waiting For Godot in English in 1955 (he was 25), he established the RSC and the NT so that others could, and did, follow his success with yet more, he directed a series of operas at Glyndebourne that stay in the memory of all who saw them, he made several films, he opened the Rose Theatre at Kingston-upon-Thames when in his 70’s and (my favourite) he saw off with great personal courage an attempt by Mary Whitehouse to sue him and his director Michael Bogdanov for so-called obscenity over the NT production of Howard Brenton’s The Romans In Britain in 1981.
And furthermore, Peter Hall leaves a family of highly talented children all making their way in theatre and the performing arts with great success. A giant has left the stage but he will not be forgotten.