David Hare (playwright)
A sharp, restless chronicler of British institutions whose plays dissect the moral fractures in politics, law, and the church.
Born 1947 (age 79)·English playwright·Birthday: June 5·Baby Boomers
Biography
David Hare didn't study theater; he founded it. After Cambridge, he co-created the Portable Theatre Company, a radical touring group that set the tone for his career: politically engaged, intellectually rigorous, and formally adventurous. He found his major subject in the slow decay of post-war Britain, scrutinizing its pillars in a landmark trilogy—'Racing Demon' (the Church), 'Murmuring Judges' (the law), and 'The Absence of War' (politics). Hare's voice is that of a moral cartographer, mapping the gap between public ideals and private compromises. His work extends beyond the stage to penetrating screenplays for films like 'The Hours' and 'The Reader', where he adapted dense literary material with emotional clarity. Knighted in 1998, he remains a public intellectual, using lectures and essays to argue for the stage as a vital space for civic debate, a belief he has embodied for over fifty years.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
David was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Wrote the 'State of the Nation' trilogy for the National Theatre, examining the Church of England, the judicial system, and the Labour Party.
- Received two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, for 'The Hours' (2002) and 'The Reader' (2008).
- Awarded the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement for his trilogy 'The Secret Rapture', 'Racing Demon', and 'Murmuring Judges'.
- Appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1998 for his services to drama.
Did You Know?
He directed his first feature film, 'Wetherby', in 1985, starring Vanessa Redgrave.
He is a lifelong supporter of the English football club Portsmouth FC.
He turned down an offer to become the artistic director of the Royal National Theatre in the 1980s.
Many of his plays, such as 'Skylight', originated as monologues he performed himself on stage.
“Theater is the place where people go to hear the truth, however unpleasant.”
