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The David Hare papers consist of typescript drafts (many with holograph
revisions), notes, lists, rehearsal scripts, schedules, production notes,
correspondence, theatre programs, a poster, clippings and articles, brochures,
resumes, photographs, page proofs, and published texts associated with Hare's
plays, teleplays, screenplays, and essays, as well as foreign-language
translations of Hare's works; works by other authors; personal correspondence;
minutes of meetings; and Hare's English papers from Cambridge University, all
ranging in date from 1968 to 1993. The material is organized in six series:
Works by Hare (1970-92, nd, 27.5 boxes); Collaborations (1971-87, 1.5 boxes);
Directing Activities (1969-86, nd, 1 box); Theatre Group Activities (1965,
1971-88, nd,.5 box); Career and Personal (1968-92, nd, 4 boxes); and Works by
Others (1993, nd,.5 box). |
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All of David Hare's stage plays, teleplays, and screenplays from the
beginning of his career through 1991 are represented in some form and, along
with articles, essays, lectures, and some unpublished works, comprise the
largest series. Multiple drafts; rehearsal scripts; notes and dialog fragments;
rejected scenes; production material, including casting and rehearsal notes,
rehearsal calls, schedules, memos, financial information, and programs; foreign
language translations by other authors, and versions of published texts are all
present. Among Hare's major stage plays are
Slag, The Great Exhibition, Knuckle, Fanshen, Teeth 'n' Smiles, Plenty, A Map of the World, The Secret Rapture, Racing Demon,and
Murmuring Judges. Noteworthy manuscripts
from these works include notes from
Fanshen workshops, improvisations, and
collaborative rehearsals;
Plenty production material, such as expense
estimates, schedules, and set design notes and drawings; and rejected scenes,
rehearsal notes, and costume, plot, and prop lists from
The Secret Rapture. Among unpublished works
present are
"What Happened to Blake,""Deathsheads," and
"The Madman Theory of Deterrence." Hare's best
known teleplays include
Man above Men, Licking Hitler, Dreams of Leaving, Saigon: Year of the Cat, and
Heading Home. Among unproduced teleplays are
"The Bloody Workers,""In Your Eye,""It's Good to Know,""Mandrax," and
"Shop!" In addition, Hare's screenplays of
Damage, Plenty, The Secret Rapture, Strapless, and
Wetherby are represented in the collection.
Typescripts of Hare's collection of autobiographical essays,
Writing Left-Handed, are also included, as
are essays, lectures, and reviews by Hare. |
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The files also document Hare's involvement with fringe theatres such as
the Portable Theatre Co. and Joint Stock Theatre Group, as well as his later
associations with the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre. Hare
was a founder of Portable Theatre, and relating to that venture are materials
from the production of
England's Ireland, including notes and
letters documenting efforts to arrange a tour schedule, and papers relating to
the theatre's financial collapse in 1973. Hare also was a founder of the Joint
Stock Theatre Group, and its collaborative workshop approach to writing and
producing plays can be seen in his
Fanshen notebook and notes. In addition,
minutes of board meetings, applications for financial assistance, and
correspondence from Joint Stock are present. Royal Court Theatre materials
include applications for the post of artistic director and related
correspondence dating from 1988. Also, notes of English Stage Company council
meetings and schedules of Royal Court productions sent to Hare by general
manager Graham Cowley may be found with the general correspondence. |
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While correspondence is scattered throughout the collection, most of it
is gathered in the Career and Personal Series. The correspondence is a strength
of the collection, and letters, notes, cards, postcards, and telegrams from
friends, relatives, colleagues, actors and actresses, other directors, a
variety of theatre companies, and theatrical, political and academic
organizations may be found. Topics include business matters, Hare's social and
political concerns, and personal matters. Noteworthy correspondents include
Hare's agent Margaret "Peggy" Ramsay; his editor
Frank Pike at Faber and Faber; his accountants at Midgley, Snelling, and Co.;
directors Max Stafford-Clark and William Gaskill; actress Kate Nelligan; and
playwrights Trevor Griffiths, John Osborne, and Michael Weller. Some letters
are accompanied by clippings, photographs, or brochures. A complete index of
correspondents in the Hare collection is located at the end of this inventory.
Most of the correspondence is incoming; the few copies of Hare's letters to
other people are indicated in parentheses in the index. Other career and
personal materials include theatre programs, a file documenting some of Hare's
censorship concerns, and school papers from Cambridge University. |
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Hare has been called a political playwright, and his social and
political concerns are reflected throughout the collection. For example, Hare
served on the Board of Trustees of Jarrow 86 Trust Ltd., which campaigned
against high unemployment levels; letters regarding its financial difficulties
were sent to Hare by Simon Osborn. Indications of Hare's political leanings are
found in the minutes of the June 20 Group, essays on Thatcher and the political
right, and correspondence with organizations such as the Joint Council for the
Welfare of Immigrants, Justice, the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, and the
Index of Censorship. A folder Hare labeled
"Polemic" contains notes and drafts giving his views
on the theatre, actors' agents, television drama, the Arts Council, and other
subjects. |
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Although Hare's career began as official censorship of plays in Britain
ended in 1968, he has always been concerned with the issues of censorship and
the power of the press in its choice of what to publish. He regarded the
unwillingness of theatres to present
England's Ireland as a form of censorship.
Bill Webb of
The Guardian asked Hare to write an
introduction to its
Bedside Guardian in 1986, and Hare sent a
piece criticising not only the press in general, but also
The Guardian itself; it was not published. A
negative review by
New York Times critic Frank Rich resulted in
the closure of the New York production of
The Secret Rapture and generated an argument
between Rich and Hare about Rich's power. Hare also exchanged heated
correspondence with critic Irving Wardle over
A Map of the World. In a
"Censorship" folder, Hare filed correspondence with
the BBC about its banning Roy Minton's play
Scum and Ian McEwen's play
Solid Geometry. The "Censorship" file also contains letters from a solicitor
analyzing possible libel danger in republishing Hare's
"Ah Mischief: The Role of Public Broadcasting"
article, originally written for
The Guardian, as well as Hare's notes for a
debate with Mary Whitehouse about censorship. |
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Hare has collaborated on various works with Nick Bicât, Tony Bicât,
Howard Brenton, David Edgar, and Snoo Wilson, among others. Notable
collaborations represented in the collection include
Brassneck and
Pravda, both cowritten with Howard Brenton,
England's Ireland, which was written with
six other playwrights, and
The Knife, with Nick Bicât and Tim
Rose-Price. |
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As a director, Hare has directed not only productions of his own plays,
but also plays by Tony Bicât, Howard Brenton, Trevor Griffiths, Christopher
Hampton, and Snoo Wilson. Typescripts, correspondence, and production material
from these are contained in the collection. |
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Within the Works by Others series are two screenplays,
Skin Flicker by Howard Brenton and
The Serpent's Kiss by Tim Rose-Price, a
playscript of
Castle of the Sea by Colin Haydn Evans, and
The Fever, a performance piece by Wallace
Shawn. |
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Other manuscripts relating to Hare at the HRHRC may be found in the
London Review of Books (correspondence 1979-81), James Saunders, and Tom
Stoppard collections. |