Now he truly was a god of the theatre

I refer to the late Sir Peter Hall whose death occurred yesterday.  Just reading his obit leaves you feeling exhausted, not only for the colossal range of his non-stop theatre work around the world but also for his love life which encompassed several wives and numerous children - how do these guys do it?  Obviously his first and perhaps main claim to fame was the fact that he established the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at Stratford.  Under his guidance a stream of superlative productions ensued and a huge number of acting careers were launched along with an equally large number of playwriting talents.

He moved on from the RSC to take over from Sir Laurence Olivier in running the very new National Theatre Company as it began its move onto the South Bank.  There-after, the world was his oyster and his immense talent took him into opera productions as well as theatre.

 

    Sir Peter Hall with the cast of King Lear at the Old Vic (1997): Credit: Jeff Gilbert

I will treasure his memory for one particular reason and that was his insistence on delivering Shakespearean verse properly.  If you have sat through a Shakespeare play unmoved and bored it is probably because the actors couldn't spell the words iambic pentameter let alone understand them!  Happily for you, dear reader, I will not attempt to explain the intricacies of it now but just take it from me, or better still from Sir Peter, that treating the rhythm of the lines with thoughtful, analytical care is absolutely essential in delivering Shakespeare's verse. 

So farewell then, Sir Peter, and this exceedingly amateurish amateur salutes you.

 

Comments

[Whyaxye]

"Just reading his obit leaves you feeling exhausted, not only for the colossal range of his non-stop theatre work around the world but also for his love life which encompassed several wives and numerous children - how do these guys do it?

Dunno about the theatre stuff, but the second part is not too difficult, to be honest.

[David Duff]

I trust you are not speaking from experience, 'W', because if you are then you are a very naughty boy!

[Whyaxye]

Well, the number of children equals the number of wives in my case!

More stupidity than naughtiness, I'm sorry to say.

[TheBigHenry]

I won't opine about wives; I am not suicidal. As far as children are concerned, they are not always the joy they are cracked up to be.

Grandchildren are generally easier to cherish. No experience with great grandchildren, but I am hoping to eventually find out.

[mike fowle]

Interesting tribute and a good point about Shakespearean verse. Sir Peter was born in Bury St Edmunds, and in the local paper today (the East Anglian Daily Times) he is quoted as saying that at the age of 14 he broke into the Greene King barrel store and "discovered a forgotten theatrical wonderland. 'It made a huge impression on me,' he said, 'I can still remember quite clearly the ghostly atmosphere, the cob-webs and the half-light coming from where I had broken in. The plasterwork was filthy, dust covered everything but there was something quite magical about it.'" In 2004, he agreed to become President of the Bury St Edmunds' Theatre Royal (successful) restoration appeal.

Despite being born in Suffolk, he was not a countryman, and when he directed Ronald Blythe's Akenfield, he said to Blythe: 'You must be my eyes. I can't tell the difference between wheat and barley.'