Hall, Sir Peter (1930-2017), an English director and manager, was one of the most influential figures in modern theater. Hall gained international praise for his productions of the plays of William Shakespeare. He also staged the first English-language production of Samuel Beckett’s controversial play Waiting for Godot in 1955 and won a 1967 Tony Award for his directing of Harold Pinter’s drama The Homecoming on Broadway. In addition, Hall directed several influential interpretations of classic operas.
Peter Reginald Frederick Hall was born on Nov. 22, 1930, in Bury St. Edmunds, in the county of Suffolk, England. He studied at Cambridge University from 1950 to 1953. Hall then became active in theater in Oxford, London, and Stratford-upon-Avon during the 1950’s. In 1960, Hall became manager of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford, which he renamed the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RSC). At the RSC, Hall revolutionized Shakespearean theater with his fresh interpretations, notably his staging of seven of Shakespeare’s history plays in 1963 and 1964 as The Wars of the Roses. Hall resigned from the RSC in 1968 to become a free-lance theater and opera director. In 1973, he became director of the National Theatre in London. Hall held the position until 1988, when he left to found his own acting company.
Hall was knighted in 1977. He wrote two autobiographical works, Peter Hall’s Diaries (1983) and Making an Exhibition of Myself (1993). Hall died on Sept. 11, 2017.
