RTST renames director award after late Peter Hall

The Royal Theatrical Support Trust has renamed its Director Award in memory of RTST co-founder, the late Sir Peter Hall, who passed away last month.

The annual award – which was launched last year – provides an opportunity for up-and-coming theatre directors to helm a fully-funded production of a play at a regional theatre in the UK. Its first winner was Kate Hewitt, who went on to direct the regional premiere of Nina Raine's Tribes in the Crucible Studio Theatre in July, supported by a £25,000 grant from the RTST to Sheffield Theatres.

Chelsea Walker won this year's award and a grant of £50,000 will be made by the RTST to Nuffield Theatres Southampton to support the production costs of a play at NST City and on tour, in a co-production with English Touring Theatre and Theatr Clwyd.

RTST Chairman Geoffrey Cass said: "I knew Sir Peter Hall from our first meeting in the 1950s. Together with Sir Kenneth Cork, Peter and I founded what is now The Royal Theatrical Support Trust (RTST) in 1967.

"The re-naming as the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award of our prestigious award to promote brilliant directors and regional theatre seemed to us to be the perfect way for the RTST to pay tribute to the man. I shall miss him terribly."