Shaffer, Peter (1926-2016), was an English playwright whose works ranged from comedies to dramatic portrayals of painful emotional crises. In many of his dramas, an unhappy and emotionally repressed character encounters a genius or saint. The character, aware of being ordinary, is driven to destroy the greater person when envy proves stronger than admiration.
The first of Shaffer’s popular and artistic successes was The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964). In this historical drama, the Spanish conqueror of Peru comes to believe in the mystical powers of the Inca king he must kill. In Equus (1973), a psychiatrist finds himself envying the inspired madness of a deeply troubled boy. Amadeus (1979) deals with the great Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The only person to truly appreciate Mozart’s genius is his rival Antonio Salieri, who tries to ruin his career.
Shaffer’s first stage play was Five Finger Exercise (1958), which portrays the effect of a tutor on a troubled family. Lettice and Lovage (1987) is a comedy about an imaginative tour guide’s liberating effect on her employer. Shaffer also wrote the one-act comedies The Private Ear (1962), The Public Eye (1962), Black Comedy (1965), and White Lies (1967). His other plays include The Battle of Shrivings (1970), Yonadab (1985), and The Gift of the Gorgon (1993).
Shaffer’s twin brother, Anthony Shaffer, also was a playwright and screenwriter. He became best known for the thriller Sleuth (1970). The brothers were born on May 15, 1926, in Liverpool. Peter Shaffer was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001 and became known as Sir Peter Shaffer. Anthony Shaffer died on Nov. 6, 2001. Peter Shaffer died on June 6, 2016.
