| Roger Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born | Roger Leighton Hall 1939 (age 72–73) Essex, England |
| Occupation | Playwright, actor |
| Nationality | United Kingdom New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University College School |
| Information | |
| Genre | Comedy/drama |
| Debut works | Glide Time (1976) |
| Magnum opus | Middle Age Spread (1978) |
| Works with | Philip Norman |
Roger Leighton Hall, CNZM, QSO (b. 1939) is a British born New Zealander actor and playwright, known for his comedies that carry a serious vein of social criticism and feelings of pathos.[1]
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Hall was born in Essex, England, and educated at University College School, Hampstead from 1952 until 1955, when he embarked on a career in insurance industry. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1958 and continued to work in insurance, also performing in amateur theatre in Wellington New Zealand.[1] He later attended Wellington Teachers’ College and Victoria University of Wellington, and became at teacher at Berhampore School, Wellington.[1]
Hall's best-known work in New Zealand is probably Glide Time (1976), which depicts the frustrations and petty triumphs of a group of workers in a government office. It gave rise to the popular 1980s television series Gliding On and a sequel play, Market Forces (1995), set in the "restructured" public service environment of the post-Rogernomics era.
The characters of The Share Club (1987, before the Stock Market crash) and After the Crash (1988) were also adapted for television in Neighbourhood Watch.
Hall's best-known works internationally are Middle Age Spread (1978, revised 1980), which had a run in the West End and was also filmed in 1979, and Conjugal Rites (1991) which was made into a situation comedy series in the UK starring Gwen Taylor and Michael Williams .[2]
Hall was a Burns Fellow in 1977. He was the subject of a television documentary in 2006. [3]