David Hare

Here’s an SEO-optimized biography of David Hare (playwright, screenwriter, director) — covering his life, work, ideas, and legacy.

David Hare – Life, Work & Influence

Discover the life and career of David Hare — British playwright, screenwriter, and director. Explore his major plays and screenplays, themes, public engagement, and lasting contributions to theatre and film.

Introduction

Sir David Rippon Hare (born 5 June 1947) is an English playwright, director, and screenwriter whose work incisively addresses the institutions, politics, and moral life of post-war Britain. He is best known for plays such as Plenty, Racing Demon, Skylight, Amy’s View, and for film work including the screenplays of The Hours and The Reader. His blend of political engagement and intimate storytelling has made him one of the foremost voices in modern British theatre.

Early Life and Education

• David Hare was born on 5 June 1947 in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, England.

• His parents were Agnes Cockburn (née Gilmour) and Clifford Theodore Rippon Hare, the latter a Merchant Navy purser.

• He was educated at Lancing College (a private school in West Sussex) and later studied English Literature at Jesus College, Cambridge.

• At Cambridge, he became active in theatre, including working with the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club.

Career & Major Works

Entry into Theatre & Early Plays

• Hare’s first produced play was Slag (1970).

• He worked with the Portable Theatre Company from 1968 to 1971.

• He was Resident Dramatist at the Royal Court Theatre (1970–71) and, later, at the Nottingham Playhouse (from 1973).

• In 1975, he co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Company with David Aukin and Max Stafford-Clark.

Theatre Success & Institutional Critique

• His breakthrough play Plenty (1978) explored post-war idealism, disillusionment, and English identity.

• He wrote a trilogy of plays about British institutions: Racing Demon (focusing on the Church), Murmuring Judges (law), and The Absence of War (politics).

• Skylight (1995) and Amy’s View (1997) are among his more personal works that combine emotional complexity with broader social questions.

• The Judas Kiss (1998) is another notable play exploring the life of Oscar Wilde.

Screenwriting & Film / Television

• Hare has written and adapted numerous films and television works.

• He received Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Hours (2002) and The Reader (2008).

• He has also been involved in television series such as Page Eight, Collateral, and Roadkill.

• In 1982, Hare founded Greenpoint Films to support his film work.

Later Work & Engagement

• Hare remains active into the 21st century, writing new plays, adapting stories, and engaging with public institutions.

• In more recent years, he has expressed urgency to write more, citing limited time to address pressing social issues.

Themes, Style & Intellectual Commitments

• Hare’s work often interrogates power, institutional failure, and public life. He holds a lifelong interest in how public institutions—church, law, politics, media—shape and fail individuals.

• He combines political critique with personal drama: even in plays about institutions, the emotional lives of characters are central.

• Hare is interested in incremental reform rather than radical overthrow; he often writes about how procedures fail or how bureaucracies ossify.

• His writing style is accessible but layered, mixing satire, moral seriousness, and psychological depth.

Selected Works

Theatre

• Slag (1970)

• Plenty (1978)

• Racing Demon (1990)

• Skylight (1995)

• Amy’s View (1997)

• The Judas Kiss (1998)

Film / Screenwriting / Television

• The Hours (2002) — Oscar nomination

• The Reader (2008) — Oscar nomination

• Page Eight, Collateral, Roadkill (TV)

Legacy & Impact

• David Hare is regarded as one of Britain’s preeminent dramatists who combines public moral reflection with dramatic craft.

• His plays remain staples in theatre repertoires, and his screen adaptations bring his voice to a wider audience.

• By engaging with institutional critique, Hare has influenced later playwrights interested in the relation of art and civic life.

• His public persona as an outspoken critic of the BBC, the National Theatre, and other institutions keeps him relevant in debates about culture, media, and democracy.

Notable Quotes

Here are a few quotes attributed to David Hare:

“Weak minds sink under prosperity as well as adversity; but strong and deep ones have two high tides.”

“The ultimate tendency of civilization is towards barbarism.”

“I don’t have much time. I am trying to write a lot of stuff.”

If you’d like, I can expand this into a full-length article (with SEO headings etc.), or provide a full list of David Hare’s works plus critical reception. Do you want me to do that?