The playwright who wrote Amadeus and Equus died this morning at 90.

The Guardian:

[Shaffer's] agent, Rupert Lord, said: “He was simply at the end of his life but delighted to have been able to celebrate his 90th birthday with friends and then, I think, decided it was time."

Sir Peter “passed away peacefully” at 5:30 a.m. on 6 June at a hospice in County Cork with his niece Cressida at his side, a statement from his agent said.

Shaffer wrote stunning portrayals of genius and obsession. He could write high-drama without being cheesy, and he could write intellectually challenging plays without relying on disjunction, obliquity, and other strategies embraced by the avant-garde. Both hard to do. I'm kicking myself for not seeing Daniel Radcliffe's revival of Equus when I was in London back in 2007. According to the Guardian, the National Theatre is remounting Amadeus in October. Anybody wanna come with?