On July 16, Hall will hold a master class for aspiring playwrights, including how and why to write a play, dialogue, character and provide feedback to participants.
"It's about the craft side of writing for the stage: characterisation, story structure, writing dialogue, how many characters should you have in the play and holding the audience's interest," Hall said this week.
"A lot of it is useful for novelists, too," The following day, he will present a two-hour talk about the beginning of his career, "Fifteen Years to be an Overnight Success".
"It's about the writing I did before I wrote Glide Time - that was, indeed, an overnight success - the many rejections I got from everyone from the Evening Post to the BBC, and the slow, gradual progress and experiences I had that led me to becoming a playwright. I like to think it's mildly inspirational - any aspiring writer would learn a lot - but it's also, all modesty aside, a very funny talk."
Hall revealed he probably had one play left in him before he took a final bow as a playwright.
"I still enjoy writing and seeing my work on stage. I am currently working on a play to follow A Short Cut to Happiness; the one the Fortune's presenting at the end of the year. It's about grandparenting. At the moment, I think that will be my last play. But then, I've thought that for the last four plays I've written."
Hall has written more than 40 plays, television series and musicals, including Glide Time, Middle Age Spread, Conjugal Rites, Love off the Shelf and Footrot Flats.
He was awarded the Queen's Service Order in 1987 and a New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003 for his contribution to theatre.
Fortune Theatre artistic director Lara Macgregor said she was excited about welcoming Hall back to Dunedin.
"Roger has a strong connection with the city. He came here in 1977 through the Robert Burns Fellowship, served on the Fortune's board and made a tremendous contribution to the arts and Otago in general, until he left in 1995," she said.
The playwriting master class will be held from 10am-4pm on July 16 in the Fortune rehearsal rooms in King Edward Court, Stuart St. The cost is $80 and bookings are essential.
The free public talk, "Fifteen Years to be an Overnight Success", will start at 1pm on July 17 in the Apartment, entry via the PACT and Malcam car park, off upper Dowling St, Dunedin.
Bookings are essential.
The Fortune Theatre will present Hall's latest play, A Short Cut to Happiness, from November 18 to December 17.
