David Hare

Introduction

David Hare

With titles like Slag, Licking Hitler, and The Judas Kiss, it is a good bet that David Hare’s plays are going to push the envelope. And he doesn’t disappoint. Hare is a prolific British playwright who is not afraid to honestly critique the society in which he lives. In fact, Hare’s contempt for and love of his country are apparent in most of his works. He began as a left-wing fringe writer and cofounded a traveling theatrical group called the Portable Theatre, which aimed to take drama to places where it could not usually be found: poor, downtrodden neighborhoods. Today, Hare’s writing remains deeply political, but unlike other social commentators, he manages to successfully balance the political with the very personal in his work.

Essential Facts

1. David Hare is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was also knighted in 1998.
2. Hare has also explored issues in the Middle East. In 1998, he wrote and performed Via Dolorosa about a visit he made to Israel and Palestine.
3. Hare has adapted many other playwrights’ works, including Anton Chekhov’s Platonov and Ivanov and Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. His most recent project is a film adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections.
4. Hare is married to Nicole Farhi, a fashion designer from Algeria.
5. In 2003, Hare was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the highly praised film The Hours.