Editing Lee Hall (playwright)

{{short description|British writer}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Lee Hall
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|9|20|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], England
|occupation = Writer
|spouse = {{marriage|[[Beeban Kidron]]|2003}}
|image=LeeHall 2 LR (cropped).jpg
}}

'''Lee Hall''' (born 20 September 1966) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the film ''[[Billy Elliot]]'' (2000) and the book and lyrics for its adaptation as [[Billy Elliot (musical)|a stage musical]] of the same name. In addition, he wrote the play ''[[The Pitmen Painters (play)|The Pitmen Painters]]'' (2007), and the screenplays for the films [[War Horse (film)|''War Horse'']] and ''[[Rocketman (film)|Rocketman]]'' (2019).

==Early life==
Hall was born in 1966 in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], the son of a [[house painter and decorator]] and a housewife. He was educated at [[Benfield School]] in [[Walkergate]]. As a youth he went to Wallsend Young People's Theatre along with Deka Walmsley, Mark Scott 
and Trevor Fox. Walmsley later appeared in two of Hall’s works, ''Billy Elliot'' and ''The Pitmen Painters''.

Hall attended [[Fitzwilliam College]], [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]], where he studied English literature and was taught by poet [[Paul Muldoon]].<ref name="Play">[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/may/12/poetry.artsandhumanities Profile "The poet at play"], ''The Guardian'', 12 May 2001,  Accessed 2013-10-16</ref> 

After leaving Cambridge, he first worked as a youth theatre fundraiser in Newcastle and at the [[Gate Theatre (London)|Gate Theatre]] in London. In 1997, his playwriting career was launched with the broadcast of his radio play, ''[[Spoonface Steinberg]]'', on [[BBC Radio 4]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Johnson |title=Lee Hall: 'Cambridge taught me I was short' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/lee-hall-cambridge-taught-me-i-was-short-1830512.html |work=The Independent on Sunday |location=London |date=29 November 2009 |access-date=29 November 2009}}</ref>

==Career==
Hall's most commercially successful work is ''[[Billy Elliot]]'', the story of a [[North East England|North Eastern English]] boy who, in the face of opposition from his family and community, aspires to be a ballet dancer. The inspiration for the screenplay was drawn, in part, from the [[A. J. Cronin]] novel ''[[The Stars Look Down]]'', which is also set in an English coal mining community during a [[strike action|strike]], and similarly tells the story of a miner's son who goes against the grain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=1432002 |title=Bill and Lee's excellent adventures |work=The Scotsman |location=Edinburgh |date=2 January 2002 |access-date=29 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021030701/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=1432002 |archive-date=21 October 2007}}</ref> The character Billy was also partly inspired by the renowned [[baritone]] [[Thomas Allen (baritone)|Sir Thomas Allen]] who came from a similar background, having been born in the North East's [[County Durham]].<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Whitley |url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3667821/If-Billy-Elliot-had-been-a-painter.-.-..html | title =If Billy Elliot had been a painter... |work=The Telegraph|location=London |date=10 September 2007 |access-date=29 November 2009}}</ref> Initially a 2000 film directed by [[Stephen Daldry]], for which Hall wrote the screenplay, and for which he received an [[Academy Award]] nomination, ''Billy Elliot'' was later turned into [[Billy Elliot the Musical|a stage musical]], with music by [[Elton John]] and lyrics by Hall. It enjoyed a long run in the West End and opened on Broadway in 2008. It won Hall the 2009 [[Tony Award]] for [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical|Best Book of a Musical]].

Also successful was ''[[Spoonface Steinberg]]'', the tale of a young autistic Jewish girl who is dying of cancer. The last in a quartet of [[radio play]]s entitled ''God's Country'', the monologue aroused an unprecedented listener response when it was broadcast in 1997 on [[BBC Radio]]. It was subsequently voted one of the ten best radio dramas of all time by readers of the magazine ''[[Radio Times]]''. ''Spoonface Steinberg'' was adapted as a television play and into a [[one man show|one woman show]] starring 42-year-old actress [[Kathryn Hunter]]. The play opened in 1999 and later transferred to the West End.

Hall had more limited success with his comedy ''[[Cooking with Elvis]]'', the protagonist of which is an [[Elvis Presley impersonator]] who has been paralyzed in a car crash. It was originally a 1995 radio play but it became a stage play in 1999. Hall's fondness for moving from one medium to another can also be seen in his work ''[[I Luv You Jimmy Spud]]'', which began as a 1995 radio play and was later adapted by Hall into a stage play and a film, ''[[Gabriel and Me]]'', starring [[Billy Connolly]] and [[Iain Glen]].

He has also translated plays by [[Carlo Goldoni]], [[Bertolt Brecht]] and [[Herman Heijermans]] and co-written the screenplays for adaptations of [[Jane Austen]]'s ''[[Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)|Pride & Prejudice]]'' and [[Kenneth Grahame]]'s ''[[The Wind in the Willows (2006 film)|The Wind in the Willows]]''.

Hall's play, ''[[The Pitmen Painters (play)|The Pitmen Painters]]'', inspired by art critic [[William Feaver]]'s book on the [[Ashington Group]], premiered at the refurbished [[Live Theatre Company|Live Theatre]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] in 2007. It tells of a group of miners from [[Ashington, Northumberland|Ashington]], [[Northumberland]], who decide to learn about art and begin to paint. The production later transferred to the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in London and opened on Broadway in September 2010. It won the 2008 [[Evening Standard Award for Best Play]].

In 2011, controversy arose over a children's opera that Hall had written, called ''Beached''. The opera was commissioned by [[Opera North]] and was to have been performed by children from Bay Primary School in [[Bridlington]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]]. The story is about a gay retired painter, a single father who tries to spend a quiet day at the seaside with his son, but who is interrupted by children on a school trip, dogs, a landscape painter, an amateur dramatic society and others. After rehearsals had been going on for six months, the school threatened to pull the children out of the production if changes were not made to the libretto. Hall changed some words to accommodate their requests, but school officials, supported by Opera North, insisted on the removal of the words "I'm queer" and "I prefer a lad to a lass," and other references to the character being gay.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Lee |last=Hall |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/jul/03/lee-hall-opera-north |date=3 July 2011 |title=Lee Hall: 'I will fight this' |location=London}}</ref> The school eventually agreed to let the children perform if Hall changed "queer" to "gay."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14064060 |date=7 July 2011 |work=BBC News |title=Homophobia row opera to go ahead}}</ref>

Hall was the original writer on the screenplay for a film adaptation of [[Michael Morpurgo]]'s ''[[War Horse (novel)|War Horse]]''; he shares credit on the finished film with [[Richard Curtis]], who was brought in by [[Steven Spielberg]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://readperiodicals.com/201112/2580578311.html |title=War Horse - Empire |access-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511042159/http://www.readperiodicals.com/201112/2580578311.html |archive-date=11 May 2012}}</ref> His most recent TV work is an adaptation of [[Nigel Slater]]'s Autobiography ''[[Toast (film)|Toast]]'', starring [[Helena Bonham Carter]] and [[Freddie Highmore]] and set in [[Wolverhampton]], West Midlands. First broadcast on [[BBC One]] in December 2010, ''Toast'' received a gala at the 2011 [[Berlin Film Festival]] and was released in cinemas on 11 August 2011. He also worked on the screenplay for the yet-to-release [[Working Title Films|Working Title]] film ''[[Hippie Hippie Shake]]'', based on [[Richard Neville (writer)|Richard Neville]]'s memoir ''Hippie Hippie Shake: The Dreams, the Trips, the Trials, the Love-ins, the Screw Ups: The Sixties''.

Hall's other projects include a [[biopic]] of [[Elton John]], ''[[Rocketman (film)|Rocketman]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Elton John's life to get big screen treatment|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15022726|work=BBC News|date=22 September 2011 |access-date=25 November 2011}}</ref> released in May 2019, a stage musical adaptation of [[Pink Floyd]]'s ''[[The Wall]]'',<ref>{{cite news |title=Roger Waters rebuilds The Wall|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/roger-waters-rebuilds-the-wall/story-e6frf9hf-1226084398294|work=Herald Sun|date=30 June 2011 |access-date=25 November 2011}}</ref> and a film adaptation of [[George Orwell]]'s 1933 memoir ''[[Down and Out in Paris and London]]''.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17562252 | work=BBC News | title=Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall adapts George Orwell | date=30 March 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Hall married film director [[Beeban Kidron]] (Baroness Kidron) in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |first=Gordon |last=Barr |title=Bridget's boys |url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/film-tv/bridgets-boys-1665473 |work=Chronicle Live |date=15 October 2003 |access-date=6 October 2013}}</ref>   Kidron is a child rights advocate who has played a determinative role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Mark |date=15 June 2023 |title=How a British baroness is shaping America's tech laws for kids |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/14/british-baroness-online-safety-laws-00101854 |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=Politico.com}}</ref>

==Works==
;Plays
*''[[I Luv You Jimmy Spud]]'' (1995)
*''The Love Letters of Ragie Patel'' (1997)
*''The Sorrows of Sandra Saint'' (1997)
*''[[Spoonface Steinberg]]'' (1997)
*''[[Cooking with Elvis]]'' (1999)
*''NE1'' (2000)
*''The Chain Play'' (2001)
*''Child of the Snow'' (2005)
*''Two's Company'' (2005)
*''[[The Pitmen Painters (play)|The Pitmen Painters]]'' (2007)
*''[[Shakespeare in Love (play)|Shakespeare in Love]]'' (2014)
*''[[Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour]]'' (2015)
*''[[Network (play)|Network]]'' (2017)

;Screenplays
*''[[Billy Elliot]]'' (2000)
*''[[Gabriel and Me]]'' (2001)
*''[[The Wind in the Willows (2006 film)|The Wind in the Willows]]'' (2006)
*''[[Toast (film)|Toast]]'' (2010)
*''[[War Horse (film)|War Horse]]'' (2011)
*''[[Victoria & Abdul]]'' (2017)
*'' [[Rocketman (film)|Rocketman]]'' (2019)
*''[[Cats (2019 film)|Cats]]'' (2019)

;Musicals
*''[[Billy Elliot the Musical]]'' (2005)
*''[[Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical]]'' (2021)

;Operas
*''Beached'' (2011)

;Translations
*''[[Mr Puntila and His Man Matti]]'' by [[Bertolt Brecht]] (1998)
*''[[A Servant to Two Masters]]'' by [[Carlo Goldoni]] (1999)
*''[[Mother Courage and Her Children]]'' by [[Bertolt Brecht]] (2000)
*''[[The Good Hope (play)|The Good Hope]]'' by [[Herman Heijermans]] (2001)

==Awards and nominations==
;Awards
* 1996 [[Richard Imison Award]]: ''I Luv You Jimmy Spud''
* 1999 [[Pearson Playwrights' Scheme|Pearson Playwrights' Scheme Award]]
* 2000 [[British Independent Film Award]], Best Screenplay: ''Billy Elliot''
* 2006 [[Laurence Olivier Award]], [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical|Best New Musical]]: ''Billy Elliot the Musical''
* 2008 [[Evening Standard Award]], [[Evening Standard Award for Best Play|Best Play]]: ''The Pitmen Painters''
* 2009 [[Drama Desk Award]], [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical|Outstanding Book of a Musical]]: ''Billy Elliot the Musical''
* 2009 [[Tony Award]], [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical|Best Book of a Musical]]: ''Billy Elliot the Musical''
* 2009 [[Drama League Award]], Distinguished Production of a Musical: ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' (shared with [[Elton John]])
* 2009 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]], Outstanding New Score: ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' (shared with Elton John)
* 2017 [[Laurence Olivier Award]], [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy|Best New Comedy]]: ''Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour''
* 2020 [[Golden Raspberry Award]], [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay|Worst Screenplay]]; ''Cats''<ref name="Razzies">{{cite web|url=https://www.razzies.com/razz-newz.html|title=RAZZ NEWZ - The Razzies!|website=razzies.com}}</ref>

;Nominations
* 2001 [[BAFTA Award]], [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]: ''Billy Elliot''
* 2001 [[Academy Award]], [[Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)|Best Original Screenplay]]: ''Billy Elliot''
* 2009 [[Tony Award]], [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]: ''Billy Elliot the Musical'' (shared with Elton John)
* 2011 [[Satellite Award]], [[Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]: ''War Horse'' (shared with [[Richard Curtis]])
* 2018 [[Laurence Olivier Award]], [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play|Best New Play]]: ''Network''
* 2018 [[Satellite Award]], [[Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]: ''Victoria & Abdul''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

* {{British council|id=lee-hall|name=Lee Hall}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0355822|name=Lee Hall}}
* {{IBDB name|475122}}
* [http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr247/mitchell.htm Interview with Lee Hall]

{{Lee Hall}}
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{{DramaDesk Book 2001–2025}}
{{Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay}}
{{TonyAward MusicalBook 2001–2025}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Lee}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:English dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English lyricists]]
[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:English screenwriters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Spouses of life peers]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]