Sir Peter Hall: Former National Theatre boss dies aged 86

The theatre giant ran the National Theatre for fifteen years
Jessie Thompson @jessiecath12 September 2017

Sir Peter Hall has died at the age of 86, it has been announced.

The former artistic director of the National Theatre passed away yesterday at University College Hospital, surrounded by his family.

Sir Peter was a giant of the theatre world, who ran the National Theatre for fifteen years from 1973 to 1988. As successor to Laurence Olivier, he oversaw the National’s move from the Old Vic to its current home on the South Bank.

He also made a formidable impact on the theatrical landscape when he set up the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960 at the age of just 29. He led the company himself until 1968, and created a company that continue to champion Shakespeare’s lasting legacy on our culture to this day.

Sir Peter Hall - In pictures

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Amongst his prolific work as a director, he staged the English language premiere of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot whilst in his mid-20s, as well as the world premieres of Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming, No Man’s Land and Betrayal.

Other notable productions include Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus in 1979, Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce in 1977, and a 1987 production of Antony and Cleopatra that starred Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins.

The last production that he directed at the National was Twelfth Night in 2011, which starred his daughter, Rebecca Hall.

Ralph Richardson as Hirst, John Gielgud as Spooner in the premiere of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land (Anthony Crickmay)

From 1984 to 1990, Sir Peter was the Artistic Director of Glyndebourne, where he directed more than twenty productions.

Tributes to Sir Peter were led by the National Theatre.

Sir Richard Eyre, who succeeded Sir Peter in running the National from 1988 to 1997, said that he “created the template of the modern director - part-magus, part-impresario, part-politician, part celebrity.”

“He was – and is - the godfather (in both senses) of British theatre and like countless directors, writers and actors of several generations I have much to be grateful to him for,” he said.

Simon Callow and Rebecca Hall in Twelfth Night (Nobby Clark)

Rufus Norris, the current Artistic Director of the National Theatre, said, “We all stand on the shoulders of giants and Peter Hall’s shoulders supported the entirety of British theatre as we know it. All of us, including those in the new generation of theatre-makers not immediately touched by his influence, are in his debt. His legendary tenacity and vision created an extraordinary and lasting legacy for us all.”

Sir Nicholas Hytner, National Theatre boss from 2003 to 2015, praised him as “a man of great warmth, and mischievous wit. When I became Director of the National Theatre in 2003, he was unstinting in his support and always generous with his advice. He was the great theatrical buccaneer of the 20th century and has left a permanent mark on our culture.”

Sir Peter Hall rehearsing Tamburlaine the Great outside the National Theatre in 1976

Sir Trevor Nunn, who ran the National from 1997 to 2003, said, “Peter Hall’s achievement defies definition, except that perhaps, it allows us to understand why we have the word ‘great’ in our language.”

Sir Peter survived by his wife, Nicki, and children Christopher, Jennifer, Edward, Lucy, Rebecca and Emma and nine grandchildren. There will be a private family funeral, with details of a memorial service will be announced in due course.

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