Sir Peter Hall

A universal man of the theatre, Sir Peter Hall achieved early fame for directing the world premiere of the English-language version of Waiting for Godot (1955). He formed his own production company in 1957 and made his opera directing debut (at Sadler’s Wells) in the same year. In 1960, he created the Royal Shakespeare Company, for which he directed 18 plays, including the premieres of Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming and Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance. He succeeded Sir Laurence Olivier as director of the National Theatre in 1973, which he led until 1988, when he launched the Peter Hall Company with productions of Tennessee Williams’s Orpheus Descending (with Vanessa Redgrave) and The Merchant of Venice (with Dustin Hoffman). He served as artistic director at Glyndebourne Festival Opera from 1984 to 1990 and has directed operas at Covent Garden, Bayreuth, and the Metropolitan Opera. He was knighted in 1977.

Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, December 2005