David Hare on stage and screen – in pictures

Hare photographed backstage at the National Theatre in February 1985, the year of his brilliant satire on the Murdoch press, Pravda (co-written with Howard Brenton) Photograph: Martin Argles Photograph: Action images Arguably his breakthrough play was Plenty, produced at the National in 1978, with Kate Nelligan as Susan Traherne, Hare's powerful but emotionally fragile heroine (pictured here with Stephen Moore in an original production shot) Photograph: Morris Newcombe/ArenaPAL Although coolly received on its debut, Plenty was revived off-Broadway in 1982 and acclaimed as a modern masterpiece. It was later filmed with Meryl Streep and Charles Dance Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/20th Century Fox Photograph: Action images Under Richard Eyre's regime at the National, Hare produced a trio of plays on three aspects of modern Britain: the clergy, the judiciary and politicians. This is a scene from Racing Demon (1990), his semi-affectionate satire on the Church of England Photograph: Tristram Kenton John Thaw played a flawed Labour politician in The Absence of War (1993), much of it based on real events from the general election the previous year, which Labour lost Photograph: Tristram Kenton Hare's next move was towards a much more intimate style of drama. 1995's Skylight, which debuted in the National theatre's smallest space before transferring to the West End, was a delicately balanced three-hander which focused on the fall-out from an affair between Tom, a wealthy restaurateur (played here by Michael Gambon) and Kyra (Lia Williams), an idealistic schoolteacher Photograph: Neil Libbert As well as maintaining a busy career in theatre, Hare has also written numerous screenplays. Nicole Kidman starred as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, a time-shifting meditation on Woolf's work based on the novel by Michael Cunningham Photograph: Paramount Hare was nominated for an Oscar for his adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's novel, The Reader, telling the story of the relationship between a former concentration camp guard and a law student. It starred David Kross and Kate Winslet Photograph: c.Weinstein/Everett / Rex Features But Hare has always had an eye for the big issues of the time. The Permanent Way, which opened at Theatre Royal York, examined the state of Britain's railways post-privatisation, built up from firsthand accounts of those involved Photograph: Tristram Kenton It was directed by veteran Max Stafford-Clark, seen here on a Bluebell Railway train, Sussex, whilst researching for the play. It went on to tour Britain the following year Photograph: John Haynes/ Lebrecht music and arts Photograph: John Haynes/Lebrecht 2006's The Vertical Hour, which opened on Broadway before transferring to London, was Hare's second play to reference the war in Iraq, featuring an American journalist (Julianne Moore) who comes into confrontation with a Welsh doctor (Bill Nighy) over whether allied forces were right to invade Photograph: PAUL KOLNIK/AP More recently, Hare has turned his attention to the banking crisis and the credit crunch. Here Anthony Calf (playing a wry version of Hare himself) and Simon Williams appear in The Power of Yes, which opened at the National in 2009 Photograph: Tristram Kenton Photograph: Tristram Kenton What goes around comes around ... Hattie Morahan rehearses the part of Susan Traherne in Plenty as part of Sheffield's new retrospective, which opens tomorrow and continues until 5 March Photograph: Robert Day