Sir Peter Hall

Oh that is sad,

R I P Sir Peter

Just saw the sad news. In many ways the father of the modern subsidised theatre. A good life😥

I remember as a schoolgirl watching on TV the Peter Hall/John Barton production of "The War of the Roses". It had a tremendous impact on me and that ignited my love of Shakespeare.
RIP

As his legacy, Hall will live on in his creation of the RSC and the shepherding of the young National Theatre into its South Bank home. Neither of these are any small matter and testament to Hall's abilities as a persuader, as advocate and, at times, as bloody minded autocrat.

By the time I was regularly attending theatre Hall had become a monolithic character and his productions had a similar feeling of solidity, with tales of earlier triumphs, ones that put him in the vanguard of British theatre, long since past. Waiting for Godot, a string of European plays (especially from France) and Shakespeare, these were his calling cards, later came Pinter and a move into opera. Theatre is a cruel mistress and 'what you were' is easily forgotten and, to new generations, never even known. Productions exist in the memories of people whose numbers gradually dwindle and disappear. Recently I watched one of his few films and had an insight into what he was before I was around, a long forgotten but resurrected by the BFI feature called Akenfield. A picture of rural life and death, improvised with a local amateur cast and filmed over a year of changing seasons. A beautiful and life affirming film that belies Hall's reputation as starstruck and dictatorial. It's a shame that we can't look back on the ephemeral joys of the theatre that he had created, in the same way.

Buildings, however, survive and, if built on strong foundations, so do companies and no other figure in British post war theatre as Hall can claim to have given us such strong foundations.

When we sometimes talk, slightly disparageingly, of the traditional NT audience, it was Peter Hall who put them there. His productions usually had a patronising element which talked down to the audience, to ensure that they all believed that they'd got the point. But that was necessary at the time, and it succeeded in creating and establishing the very pillars of British theatre. It's on his solid back that theatre today can afford to be more provisional and subjective.

The theatre has lost a wonderful champion. Very sad but he left behind a legacy of inspiration for many to enjoy. My thoughts and prayers with his family. RIP

A giant of the theatre establishment. One of us.

Saw him in Kyoto a few years ago. RIP.

His diaries are a fascinating read, particularly about the probs of the NT on the South Bank and the relationship with Olivier.

Walked home across Waterloo Bridge today and the display screen on the NT had his name and dates - nice dignified tribute. Hope they do some sort of platform or other retrospective of his life.

Agree about Wild Duck, fantastic production!

Ditto all of the above and he was so young when he just got stuff done. His memoirs are worth a read. I think I recall he got Peggy Ashcroft on board for the RSC by talking to her in the car park. I will check this out. Shoulders of giants...

I know it is a bit early to think of tributes but surely there is a good case for naming a theatre or a performing space at a theatre after him.

The names at the NT seem to be tied up but Cottesloe was renamed the Dorfman so could the Lyttleton be renamed?

The Rose Theatre at Kingston could certainly be renamed as Sir Peter was the founding director there.

At Stratford the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is perhaps too well established but it was renamed in 1961 from the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and the other options the Swan and The Other Place were conceived after Peter had left the Company. If the renaming the RST in his honour wasn't considered practical, I'd go with The Other Place as the Peter Hall Building/Theatre given that he encouraged new work and that venue is now striving to do this too.

I saw The Wild Duck at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, during the Easter break before my final term at Plymouth on my English degree course (it was one of the set texts). When I checked the tour schedule I found out it was on at Bath Theatre Royal the following week, so when I got back to Plymouth I told my lecturer and he arranged a trip at short notice so the rest of the students on my course could see it. Some wondered why I wanted to see it a second time, but a good production is always worth revisiting! Everyone enjoyed it, and it's one of my fondest theatre memories.