Hare, David (1947-…), is an English dramatist and film director known for plays that examine English society since the end of World War II in 1945. Many of his works satirize the decline he sees in postwar English life.
Hare’s earliest plays reflect his ability to create strong female characters, write witty dialogue, and explore social and political problems of the day. These plays include Slag (1970), Knuckle (1974), and Teeth ‘n’ Smiles (1975). He scored a major success with Plenty (1978), an account of an Englishwoman who finds her life an anticlimax after her dangerous and exciting service during World War II. He describes decent characters battling to preserve their ideals against corrupt forces in Pravda: A Fleet Street Comedy (written with Howard Brenton, 1985) and The Secret Rapture (1988).
Hare wrote a trilogy exploring major British institutions in Racing Demon (1990), Murmuring Judges (1991), and The Absence of War (1993). Racing Demon, the most critically praised of the three, analyzes the Church of England in modern English life. Hare’s Skylight (1995) describes a doomed romance between a materialistic middle-aged businessman and a younger woman determined to help poor children. Hare wrote and performed a one-man play called Via Dolorosa (1998), based on his experiences in the Middle East, and wrote Acting Up (1999), a diary of his experience performing Via Dolorosa. His other plays include Fanshen (1975), A Map of the World (1982), Amy’s View (1996), My Zinc Bed (2000), The Breath of Life (2002), Stuff Happens (2004), and The Vertical Hour (2006).
Hare is an active filmmaker. He adapted the film versions of Plenty (1985) and The Secret Rapture (1993), which he also directed. He wrote and directed the films Wetherby (1985) and Strapless (1989). He also wrote and directed Licking Hitler (1978) and Heading Home (1991) for television. Hare wrote the screenplay for the dramatic film The Hours (2002).
Hare was born on June 5, 1947, in St. Leonards, England, near Hastings. After graduating from Cambridge University in 1968, Hare cofounded an experimental drama company called the Portable Theatre, writing plays for the company and serving as its director. He also worked as literary manager of the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1969 and 1970 and as its resident playwright in 1970 and 1971. He was resident playwright at the Nottingham Playhouse in 1973. He co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Group in 1975. Hare served as associate director of the National Theatre from 1984 to 1988 and resumed the position in 1989. He was knighted in 1998. Hare published a memoir, The Blue Touch Paper, in 2015.
See also Brenton, Howard.
