SOURCE: “Rare Hare, Liking Women,” in David Hare: A Casebook, edited by Hersh Zeifman, Garland Publishing, 1994, pp. 23-43.

In the following essay, Cohn examines the portrayal of women in Hare's dramas and films, noting the strengths and weaknesses of the female characters in light of harsh feminist criticism of Hare's work.

“Raymond loved women. … It’s very rare,” says a wise woman in Strapless (70), and one might extend the statement to embrace the author/director of that film, David Hare. More than any other living male dramatist, Hare has given voice to women—on stage, film, and television. With that introduction, I sound as though I am setting Hare up only to knock him down, in a predictable feminist fashion.¹ Hare’s treatment of women characters is not, however, invariant, and I hope to unveil its nuances.

A graduate of public school and Cambridge University, Hare has drawn...