Times, 19 February 1998, by Jeremy Kingston. "Room for one more in the Hall of fame?" ----------------------------------------------------------- Jeremy Kingston meets a young director treading in some famous footsteps. The sensible strategy for keen young directors embarking on a career is to resist any impulse to introduce their skills to the world with yet another production of "Woyzeck," sure to be the fifth that month, and look around for a play that no one has staged in living memory. Some luck is needed, and good timing too, neither of which were much in evidence when Edward Hall staged Byron's "Cain" at the fag-end of the 1992 Chichester season. The press were invited to the third of only four performances, and by the time the notices appeared the play had closed. Even so, the short run was four performances longer than any previous production in this country. Next week "Two Gentlemen of Verona," Hall's first production for the RSC, opens in the Swan at Stratford upon Avon. Since a family connection with the company will have to be mentioned eventually the revelation might as well come at once: he is the son of Sir Peter, who of course established the RSC in its present form and has gone on to run the National Theatre and now his own company in the West End. While driving to Stratford to interview the younger Hall it occurs to me that sons of famous fathers are seldom thrilled to be asked straight away how they get on with their old man. So when we are settled in a spare room with healthy tea, I recall his production of "Cain," where Samuel West's hero argued the theological toss with Alexis Denisof's Lucifer in a hollow of sand. He is glad to talk about a production that had vanished so quickly. "When I came across the play I thought, here's an extraordinary piece of metaphysical drama, I didn't know why it had never been done and I hoped I could find out why Stanislavsky had chosen this, of all plays, to open the Moscow Arts Theatre after the October Revolution. I cut it a lot because I wanted to do it in 90 minutes, like a Greek tragedy." I bite back a remark about how strikingly he resembles pictures of his father thirtysomething years ago: the sudden flashing smile, a similar appearance of easy affability. Not yet the moment to mention his Dad. Young Hall was reading history at Leeds University when he realised he was spending so much time in its theatre that what he surely ought to be doing was trying to become an actor. Three years later in his diploma year at Mountview Theatre School he decided that what he really enjoyed doing was directing, so when Rod Williams, a friend from school, sent him his gripping play about three prisoners, "No Remission," he directed it at the Edinburgh Festival. Here it was seen by Philip Hedley, who took him to work at Stratford East reading scripts, helping to cast and doing workshops with local sixth formers. Next came the culture jump to Chichester, followed by two RSC jobs as assistant director, and last summer a Shakespeare of his own, a well-received modern-dress "Henry V" at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury. Remembering a famous modern dress "Hamlet" that Hall senior directed, I observe, ponderously casual, that although many sons and daughters of actors follow their parents on to the stage I cannot think of a director's son or daughter becoming a director. Not a muscle moves on his face, but I detect something like an inward sigh. Having a famous father can make life easier; more often than not it has made life more difficult; people challenge his motives. "Yes, he did have an influence on me when I was growing up because I went to see a lot of theatre, and there were always actors, writers and people from that world in the house. But my parents split up when I was 13 and from that point I lived with my mother. I saw my father a lot but it's only since my early twenties that we've spent more time with each other." When 2 Gents has opened he goes back to the Watermill to direct "The Comedy of Errors," and then revives his "Henry V" to play them in repertoire. He and Jill Fraser, the Watermill's artistic director, are putting together a company able to travel light and tour anywhere. "The actors will make all the music, do all the sound effects, and there'll be so little scenery it can go as excess baggage. For instance, the door in "Comedy of Errors" - all we need is a door knocker. An actor with a half-mask and a large door knocker will be the door. We build the set with people." I ask how he thought of that. He grins. "When I want an idea I have a bath, and it just comes. By the time I go into rehearsals I'm very clean." "Two Gentlemen of Verona" opens on Tuesday at the Swan, Stratford (01789 295623) Photo: Edward Hall gets ready for his RSC debut at the Swan. Photograph by Adrian Sherratt ----------------------------------------------------------- Bentley's Bedlam http://www.BetsyDa.com/bedlam.html This website is for information and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to infringe on copyrights held by others.