Sir Peter Shaffer

Playwright

Sir Peter Shaffer was best known for his hugely popular philosophical dramas The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Equus and, in particular, Amadeus. The last of these, which charted the destructive jealousy of the 18th-century court composer Salieri for his rival Mozart was a highly sought after ticket at the National Theatre and on Broadway, and was turned into one of the most successful films of the 1980s, which won eight Academy Awards including best picture.