Sir Peter Hall
About
Biography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
This acclaimed theater director has made occasional forays into film--usually stage adaptations--which have met with varying degrees of success. The Suffolk native began directing while at Cambridge, and founded the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1957 which evolved into The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1961. Hall worked as both a director and managing director there until 1968. During that time, he first dipped his toe into films, directing a sequence for Sidney Lumet's "The Deadly Affair" (1967) and designing costumes for Richard Burton's "Dr. Faustus" (also 1967).
Hall began his film career in earnest in 1968, directing "Work is a Four-Letter Word," which he followed up with "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Three Into Two Won't Go" (both 1969), "Perfect Friday" (1970), "The Homecoming" (1973) from Harold Pinter's play, and "Akenfield" (1975). He also acted in Maximilian Schell's "The Pedestrian" (1974). After quite an absence, he returned to the film world with "She's Been Away" (1989), the dark "Delinquent" (1994), which he produced, wrote and directed and his first Hollywood film, the erotic thriller "Never Talk to Strangers" (1995).
Hall has hardly neglected his theater work ("If I don't do a Shakespeare a year, I get very scratchy"). From 1973-88, he was director of London's National Theatre, a post he took over from Laurence Olivier. He was also artistic director of the Glyndeborne Festival Opera from 1984-90. Hall specializes not only in Shakespeare, but in plays of Harold Pinter and Peter Schaffer, and in Mozart's operas. His TV work includes "The Wars of the Roses" (BBC, 1965), "Carmen" (PBS, 1987), "Orpheus Descending" (TNT, 1990) and "Jacob" (TNT, 1994). Hall was knighted in 1977.
Filmography
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Life Events
1957
Founded and was managing director (until 1968) of Royal Shakespeare Company
1963
First contact with feature film production, provided funding, "The Caretaker"
1968
Feature directorial debut, "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
1973
Director of the National Theatre, London
1974
First feature as producer, "Akenfield" (also directed)
1974
Film acting debut, "The Pedestrian"
1987
First TV credit for the PBS special, from his stage production, "Carmen"
1988
Network debut as production manager, "ABC Presents a Royal Gala"
1990
Directed and wrote first TV-movie, "Orpheus Descending"
1992
Appeared in the A&E produced documentary, "Living Shakespeare: A Year With the Royal Shakespeare Company"
1994
Feature screenwriting debut, "Delinquent" (also produced and directed)
1996
Named as artistic director of the Old Vic Theater in London
1999
Joined faculty of University of Houston's School of Theatre (fall)
2002
Staged "Lady Windermere's Fan" in London with Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter Joely Richardson in the cast
Family
Companions
