Blakemore and Hall had been rivals during the 1959 season at the Royal Shakespeare Company, when Hall had directed Blakemore as an actor and both had had romantic ideas about Vanessa Redgrave.Blakemore (2013) p.147. Neither of their passions were requited, but Hall did not renew Blakemore's contract. Tom Chester, a character in Blakemore's novel Next Season – a devious and aloof theatre director – is recognisable as Peter Hall. Blakemore became one of ten associate directors forming what was called a planning committee.The others were John Schlesinger, Harold Pinter, John Bury, Michael Birkett, Peter Stevens, Bill Bryden, John Russell Brown, Mike Kustow and Harrison Birtwistle Blakemore and Hall's rivalry was dramatised when Blakemore presented a formal manifesto to the committee recommending reform.Blakemore (2013) pp.275–286. Perhaps his most insubordinate suggestion was that Peter Hall should no longer draw full salary from the National during his frequent absences directing elsewhere (Glyndebourne, Bayreuth e.g.) All the other directors had their incomes from the National suspended while guest-directing. The committee refused to discuss the manifesto and Blakemore was eventually forced to resign when his salary was stopped without warning or explanation.Blakemore (2013) p.309 et seq. His other productions included Tyger by Adrian Mitchell, co-directed with John Dexter (1971), The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (1972), Macbeth (1972), The Cherry Orchard (translated by Ronald Hingley, 1973), Grand Manoeuvres (1974), Engaged by W. S. Gilbert (1975), and Plunder by Ben Travers (1976).
