Director and playwright Peter Gill has died aged 86

Playwright and director Peter Gill has died aged 86.

Born in Cardiff in 1939, Gill initially trained as an actor before transitioning into directing at London’s Royal Court Theatre during the mid-1960s.

During this early period, he achieved significant critical attention by rescuing the dramatic works of D H Lawrence from obscurity, directing groundbreaking revivals of plays such as A Collier’s Friday Night and The Daughter-in-Law. 

In 1976, he became the founding artistic director of Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, converting an industrial warehouse space into a hub for theatre, dance, and film. He moved to the National Theatre as an associate director in 1980, and went on to establish the National Theatre Studio in 1984.

Gill’s plays included The Sleepers Den, Over Gardens Out and Small Change, with later work including Cardiff East, The York Realist, and Versailles.

The Royal Court said in a statement: “Today the English Stage Company marks the legacy of a major writer and director, and a great discoverer and champion of new theatre talent. Peter Gill arrived in Sloane Square as a teenager auditioning for small parts, and across six decades played a leading role in shaping modern British theatre.”

“Class, and a deep sense of dignity and humanity, ran through all of Peter’s work, infusing both his directing and writing. As associate director, he founded the Royal Court Young Writers’ Group in 1969, whose spirit lives on in our work nurturing successive generations of playwrights.

“Despite his huge impact at the Court, his time here was just a warm-up for what was to come. Peter became founding srtistic director of Riverside Studios in 1976, establishing it as one of British theatre’s leading spaces. In 1980, he joined the National Theatre as associate director, staying for 17 years and becoming the founding director of the NT Studio.”