Peter Hall Biography

Fast Facts

• Brought Waiting For Godot to the stage in 1955, the play which transformed him into a theatrical sensation
• Established the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and London in 1960, running it for 15 years
• Was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1963 and was knighted in 1977, for his theatre services
• Directed the operas Cosi Fan Tutte in 1978 and Der Ring das Nibelungen in 1983
• Has worked professionally with all his children, including co-directing a theatre production of Tantalus with Edward Hall in 2000
• Was made a freeman of the City of London in 2010, an entitlement which began in 1237 and is bestowed on valued members of the community
• Along with actor Benedict Cumberbatch, he protested against the cuts to arts funding at the Evening Standard theatre awards in London in 2010