THE HAT SQUAD: REMEMBERING SIR PETER SHAFFER

"I think think some of the reasons I've had a sense of happiness in my life, a sense of fulfillment, is that I began with a sense of invisibility about myself. As I evolve I become more visible. When I'm 100, if I manage to write lots of plays, I can read them all in a row and it may give me some vague sense - only vague - of what I am and was."

- Peter Shaffer

Peter Shaffer won't have that chance to read all of his plays in a row once he reached his centenary.  But he nearly made it: he died while on vacation in Ireland at the age of 90, another luminary (Robert F. Kennedy being another) to die on my birthday.  

From the BBC:

British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer, who won an Oscar for "Amadeus" and wrote "Equus", has died at the age of 90.

Sir Peter was on a visit to Ireland and died with his niece Cressida at his side, his agent said.

He had won Tony Awards for both "Amadeus" and "Equus", which was later revived with "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe in his West End lead debut.

He was able to fulfill that Irish blessing/curse, "May you die in Ireland......"

Sir Peter appeared as himself in a variety of documentaries, including a "Making Of..." about the movie version of "Amadeus".  But also in celebrations of Juliet Mills and of filmmakers in the San Francisco area.  

Several of his plays were produced for television, and a couple of those were staged several times over - something that is not uncommon in the TV dimension of ToobStage.  What makes that aspect even more interesting is that two of them - "Five Finger Exercise" & "Balance Of Terror" - were done in different languages. (There is only one ToobStage dimension, one that replays over and over, but which constantly reinvents itself.)

Here is a list of those plays which can be found in Toobstage:

"EQUUS"

Broadcast in Slovakia in 2008

"AMADEUS"

Broadcast in Romania in 1984

"FIVE FINGER EXERCISE"

Broadcast in Great Britain in 1970

Presented by 'Noche De Teatro' in Spain, 1974

Broadcast in Greece as "I Askisi Pente Daktylon" in 1978

"BALANCE OF TERROR"

Presented by 'Studio One' in 1958

Broadcast in Germany as "Terror In Der Waage" in 1960

"THE PRIVATE EAR"

Broadcast in Austria in 1967

"THE GIFT OF THE GORGON"

Broadcast in Portugal in 1999 as "O Poder Da Gorgone"

"BLACK COMEDY"

Broadcast in Portugal as "O Fusível" in 1997

"THE SALT LAND"

Presented by 'ITV Play Of The Week' in 1955

As many of you probably know, I'm more interested in the fictional "televersions" of people from the Real World.  And we have proof that Peter Shaffer did exist in the main Toobworld of Earth Prime-Time... even if we didn't get the chance to see him.

'MIDSOMER MURDERS'

"DEATH OF A HOLLOW MAN"

In the third episode of this long-running mystery series, DCI Tom Barnaby was helping out the Causton playhouse by painting sets for their production of "Amadeus".  (He probably wouldn't have gotten involved had not his wife Joyce been cast in the production.)  As it turned out, there was a lot of backstage intrigue as the production was plagued by several murders.

 

I was hoping for more references to the stage play, or to "Equus", in other TV shows.  But all I could find were references to the song "Rock Me, Amadeus" or to Mozart in a general sense.

Good night and may God bless, Sir Peter Shaffer.....