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Peter Hall Theatre director
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David Warner, Hamlet, The Ring... the heart of The Ring was right, I know that and, you know, there was... it took us several years to get close in around it but it was. The Wars of the Roses, The Oresteia, Antony and Cleopatra. I don't know, I don't look back very much...

[Q] No.

So I'm not... I was terribly... I was terribly... I mean... As You Like It has a very soft spot in my heart because I think I found out things about that play which I hadn't seen before — the dark side of it.

[Q] I don't think you lent towards it very strongly before.

No.

[Q] As a play to do.

No, I didn't. Well, it was largely because Vanessa Redgrave had been so marvellous in my early years at the RSC, which I didn't direct, that she cast a very long shadow. But my daughter, Rebecca I thought... had her own contribution to make to it.

[Q] Yes, she gave something new to it.

Oh, she did, oh she did, undoubtedly.

British-born theatre director, Sir Peter Hall (1930-2017), ran the Arts Theatre where, in 1955, he directed the English-language premiere of 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett. He also founded the Royal Shakespeare Company when he was only 29, and directed the National Theatre from 1973 to 1988. He was at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon for two season from 1957-1959. He also directed 'Akenfield' for London Weekend Television and ran the Peter Hall Company, which has 40 productions worldwide to its name. In 1963, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and in 1977 was knighted for his contribution to the theatre. In 1999, he was also honoured with a Laurence Olivier Award.

Listeners: John Goodwin

Head of Press at the National Theatre (1974-1988), and earlier at the RSC (1960-1974), John Goodwin is the author of a best-selling paperback, A short Guide to Shakespeare's Plays, and co-author of Trader Faulkner's one-man show, Losing My Marbles. He is also editor of the play, Sappho, based on Alphonse Daudet's novel, and editor of a number of successful books, among them, Peter Hall's Diaries, and, British Theatre Design - the modern age.

Tags: The Ring, Hamlet, The Wars of the Roses, The Oresteia, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, RSC, Royal Shakespeare Company, David Warner, Vanessa Redgrave, Rebecca Hall

Duration: 1 minute, 31 seconds

Date story recorded: February 2006

Date story went live: 24 January 2008