John Hall

Biography

Hall was educated at Queens College, Oxford,

His first produced play, World Behind Your Back, was in collaboration with actor William Eedle, at the Mercury Theatre in London in 1952.

Albert Finney starred in one of his most successful plays, The Lizard on the Rock, at Birmingham Repertory Theatre

The Lizard on the Rock was well-received. It is a story based around '...an industrialist – a Senator – who is prospecting for water...' '...in the Western Australian desert... the central character [is] outwardly a man of success and power, but faced with the collapse of his achievements...' and the realisation that 'Life cannot depend upon "the blandishments of power; the blind man groping among the useless treasure.'" and the playwright Christopher Fry wrote: 'Mr Hall's mind is his own; what he has to say is his own...' The International Theatre Annual described the blank verse in The Lizard on the Rock as 'Eliotesque'.

Hall considered the most important playwrights of the 1960s were '...Harold Pinter, Christopher Fry, Robert Bolt, John Arden, John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, Peter Schaeffer and Charles Wood'. was originally performed by the York Theatre Royal Activists in 1973 Of Wrang-Gaites, playwright Christopher Fry wrote: 'It is as though the traditional Mummer's Play of St George and the Dragon had spread and ramified and leapt into the twentieth century.' 1958 The Holiday – No 1 tour with Sylvia Syms, Sian Phillips and Peter O’Toole 1959 The Net – Harrogate Opera House 1959 A Pennyworth of Love – Northampton Rep. theatre 1962 The Lizard on the Rock – tour and London Phoenix theatre with Sian Phillips, John Laurie and Harry Andrews 1963 I, John Brown – with Sir Ian McKellen, Ipswich Arts theatre 1965 Convolvulus – Theatre Royal, Windsor 1966 The Little Woman – Traverse theatre, Edinburgh 1973 Bondi's Dream – Pool Theatre, Edinburgh 1973 Alva the Widow – Netherbow, Edinburgh 1974 Grass and Sky – Strathclyde University theatre group 1976 Skin and Bones – Aberdeen University 1976 Wrang-Gaites – York and Aberdeen student productions 1977 Everly – workshop production for Scottish society of playwrights 1978 Any Horse looks Fast Going Past Trees – Lyceum. Edinburgh

Television plays 1961 The Break-Up, starring Rosalie Crutchley and James Donald – Play of the Week, ITV 1963 The Swindler – Armchair theatre, ABC TV 1964 Exit Joe, Running, starring Tim Preece – Armchair theatre, ABC TV 1984 Movie Queen, with Toyah Willcox and Annie Ross – HTV 1985 Child Marlene – BBC2, Thirty Minute Theatre 1986 The Proposal – ITV, Love Story series

Radio plays 1982 Chrissie – Radio 4 1983 Jackie – Radio 4, Saturday Night theatre 1985 The Gaudy – Radio 3 1985 In the Venn Country – Radio 4 1986 Breakfast at Mother Brown's – Radio 4 1987 The Bridge – Radio 4 1988 The Little House – Radio 3 1989 The Wedding of Jackie – Radio 4