David Hare (dramatist)
2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Writers and critics
Sir David Hare (born June 5, 1947) is an English dramatist and theatre and film director.
Biography
Hare was born in Sussex and was educated at Lancing College and at Jesus College, Cambridge. His first play, Slag, was produced in 1970. In 1973, he was appointed resident dramatist to the Nottingham Playhouse, a major provincial theatre. In 1975, he helped found the Joint Stock Theatre Company.
He was knighted in 1998. He is married to the Algerian fashion designer Nicole Farhi.
Hare worked with the Portable Theatre Company from 1968 - 1971. Hare was Resident Dramatist at the Royal Court Theatre, London, from 1970-1971, and in 1973 became resident dramatist at the Nottingham Playhouse. Hare co-founded the Joint Stock Company with David Aukin and Max Stafford-Clark in 1975. Hare began writing for the National Theatre and in 1978 his play Plenty was produced at the National Theatre, followed by A Map of the World in 1983, and Pravada in 1985 co-written with Howard Brenton. David Hare became the Associate Director of the National Theatre in 1984, and has since seen many of his plays produced, such as his trilogy of plays Racing Demon, Murmuring Judges, and The Absence of War. Hare has also directed many other plays aside from his own works, such as; The Pleasure Principle by Snoo Wilson, Weapons of Happiness by Howard Brenton, and King Lear by William Shakespeare for the National Theatre. David Hare is also the author of a collection of lectures on the arts and politics called Obedience, Struggle, and Revolt.
Hare founded a film company called Greenpoint Films in 1982, and has written screenplays such as Plenty, Wetherby, and Strapless by Night. Aside from movies Hare has also teleplays for the BBC such as; Licking Hitler, and Saigon: The Year of the Cat.
Plays
- Slag (1970)
- The Great Exhibition (1972)
- Brassneck (1973) (with Howard Brenton)
- Knuckle (1974)
- Fanshen (1975)
- Knuckle (1975)
- Plenty (1978)
- A Map of the World (1982)
- Pravda (1985) (with Howard Brenton)
- The Bay at Nice, and Wrecked Eggs (1986)
- The Secret Rapture (1988)
- Racing Demon (1990)
- Murmuring Judges (1991)
- The Absence of War (1993)
- Skylight (1995)
- Amy's View (1997)
- The Blue Room (1998) (adapted from Arthur Schnitzler)
- The Judas Kiss (1998)
- Via Dolorosa (1998)
- My Zinc Bed (2000)
- The Breath of Life (2002)
- The Permanent Way (2004)
- Stuff Happens (2004)
- The Vertical Hour (2006)
Television and film scripts
- Licking Hitler (1978)
- Dreams of Leaving (1980)
- Plenty (1985) based on his play
- Strapless (1989)
- The Hours (2002) based on the novel by Michael Cunningham
- The Corrections (2007) based on the novel by Jonathan Franzen
- Murder in Samarkand (2008) based on the memoir by Craig Murray, former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan
Directing credits
- Licking Hitler for BBC1's Play for Today (1978) (TV film)
- Dreams of Leaving for BBC1's Play for Today (1980)
- Wetherby (1985)
- Paris by Night (1988)
- Strapless (1989)
- Paris, May 1919 (1993) (TV episode)
- The Designated Mourner, written by Wallace Shawn (1989)
- Heading Home (1991) (TV film)
- The Year of Magical Thinking (2007) ( Broadway play by Joan Didion starring Vanessa Redgrave)
Books
- Acting Up (A diary on his experiences of acting in his own play, the one-man-show on the topic of Israel/Palestine, Via Dolorosa.)
- Obedience, Struggle and Revolt (Faber and Faber, 2005)
- About Hare by Richard Boon (Faber and Faber, 2006)
Awards
- Evening Standard Award for best play of 1985, for Pravda,
The BAFTA Award (British Academy of Film and Television) for best single play in 1979, for Licking Hitler
The New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play in1983, for Plenty The Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear in1985, for Weatherby The Olivier Award for best new play in 1990, Racing Demon The London Theatre Critics’ Award best play in 1990, for Racing Demon