Roger Hall (playwright)
| Roger Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born | Roger Leighton Hall 17 January 1939 Woodfall, Wells, Essex, England |
| Occupation | Playwright, actor |
| Nationality | United Kingdom New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University College School |
| Related to | Pip Hall (daughter) |
| Information | |
| Genre | Comedy/drama |
| Debut works | Glide Time (1976) |
| Magnum opus | Middle Age Spread (1978) |
| Works with | Philip Norman |
Roger Leighton Hall CNZM QSO (born 17 January 1939) is one of New Zealand's most successful playwrights, arguably best known for comedies that carry a vein of social criticism and feelings of pathos.
Hall was born in Essex, England, and educated at London's University College School from 1952 until 1955, when he embarked on a career in insurance. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1957 and continued to work in insurance, also performing in amateur theatre in the city of Wellington. He continued to act while attending Wellington Teachers’ College and Victoria University of Wellington; fellow actor John Clarke praised his impression of then Prime Minister Keith Holyoake as the template for all others. Hall began writing plays for children while teaching, which included a spell at Berhampore School, Wellington. He became a naturalised New Zealander in 1980.
Hall began writing for television in the 1960s – over the next four decades his television output would grow to include one-off plays, documentaries, pioneering New Zealand television series Buck House and Pukemanu and time on political satire Spin Doctors. Alongside his writing, he appeared on-screen with actor Grant Tilly on 60s sketch show In View of the Circumstances.
Hall's best-known work in New Zealand is probably his breakthrough play Glide Time (1976), which depicts the frustrations and petty triumphs of a group of so-called 'public servants' working in a government office. It gave rise to a radio show, a one-off television adaptation, then popular 1980s television series Gliding On. A sequel play and television series, both called Market Forces also followed, set in the "restructured" public service environment of New Zealand's post-Rogernomics era.
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