Sir Peter Hall, 1930 - 2017

Sir Peter Hall, for decades a towering figure in British arts, has died. A multi-talented hyphenate before the term existed, he was an actor who became one of Britain’s greatest directors – in theatre and opera principally but also in film and television. He was also a crusader.

He founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961, and then spent 15 years as director of the National Theatre. “The British people will always take the theatre seriously, because this building is here,” he said as the National opened the doors of its new home on the South Bank in 1976.

But he will also be remembered as champion of public funding for the arts, at one point resigning from the Arts Council in a fury in protest over cuts in funding.

For one who embraced the high arts, his beginnings were lowly. He was the only son of a railway clerk. Perhaps this contributed to the breadth of his interests. "The tension between the utterly contemporary and the classical has always been the main spring of my work," he noted. "It has guided me from Waiting for Godot to King Lear and back again via Der Ring des Nibelungen."

This tension was recognised with multiple awards, most significantly a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 and Tonys for The Homecoming (1967) and Amadeus (1981). He received his knighthood in 1977 for his services to British theatre.

BBC Arts looks back at Sir Peter’s achievements in this archive collection, including his 1983 Desert Island Discs selection, a Radio 4 Front Row interview for his 80th birthday, and his 2012 honour as one of the 'New Elizabethans'.

Sir Peter Hall, 1930 - 2014

1967 - The Impresarios
Sir Peter is captured at work as both a theatre and film director in the 1967 series The Impresarios. He offers a personal insight into creating the set for a stage production of Macbeth, and appears in the studio shooting his first film 'Work is a Four Letter Word' - a satirical comedy starring Cilla Black.
1983 - Desert Island Discs
Sir Peter joins Roy Plomley on Radio 4 to choose his favourite music and discuss his life inside and outside the theatre. The Man That Got Away by Judy Garland is his favourite record, The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians is his book of choice, and a photograph of his children is his luxury item.
1985 - Omnibus
Sir Peter was a champion of public funding for the arts. In this clip from from Omnibus: A Southbank Saga in June 1985 he gives his infamous ‘Coffee Table Speech’. Calling a press conference, from atop the item of furniture, he lambasts the government for its lack of support for the National Theatre.
1997 - HARDtalk
HARDtalk's Tim Sebastian hears how Sir Peter's experience at the helm of the Royal Shakespeare Company contrasted with a "15-year war" at the National Theatre. Sir Peter recalls how his career brought him into contact with screen legends like Stan Laurel, Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly.
2001 - John Tusa interview
This Radio 3 series saw John Tusa, then managing director of the Barbican Centre, meet a host of leading creative figures to talk about their work. In this episode he speaks to Sir Peter Hall about his long career and his tireless work ethic.
2010 - Front Row
Ahead of his 80th birthday, as he continues to create new productions, Sir Peter talks to Mark Lawson on Front Row. He looks back on the experience of running both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
2012 - The New Elizabethans
To mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Sir Peter was chosen as one of the 'New Elizabethans' - those who have given the second Elizabethan age its character. James Naughtie examines what qualifies him for the honour.
2017 - Front Row
Following the news of his death, Front Row hears from those who lived and worked with Sir Peter Hall, including his ex-wife, opera singer Maria Ewing, Sir Nicholas Hytner, Sir Richard Eyre, Sir Trevor Nunn, David Edgar and Michael Billington.