Stage
Hale made her professional debut playing unnamed parts with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1965. She appeared in repertory theatre at Canterbury, Windsor and Ipswich, then at the Liverpool Playhouse, in 1967, where her parts included the title role in Gigi and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. At the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead in October 1975, she played Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.
She appeared as Nina in Chekhov's The Seagull at the Derby Playhouse in July 1976, making her West End debut in the production when it transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in August 1976. The Stage review found her performance “tender, thoughtful and charming”.
Hale played Marie Caroline David in The Tribades by Per Olov Enquist (Hampstead Theatre Club, May 1978); Melanie in Boo Hoo by Philip Magdalany (Open Space Theatre, July 1978); and Bobbi Michele in Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon (Royal Exchange, Manchester, April 1979 – transferring to the Criterion Theatre in November 1979).
Hale starred as Josie in the original production of Steaming (Theatre Royal Stratford East, July 1981 - transferring to the Comedy Theatre in August 1981) and received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.
In 1982, she appeared with Annette Crosbie and Richard O'Callaghan in a production of Noël Coward's Star Quality at the Theatre Royal, Bath. In April 1983 she starred opposite Glenda Jackson and Gary Oldman in Summit Conference at the Lyric Theatre, London, playing Benito Mussolini's mistress Clara Petacci. Later that year, she starred with Colin Blakely, Jane Carr and Paul Eddington in the play Lovers Dancing, directed by Donald McWhinnie, at the Noël Coward Theatre. She followed with roles in two productions at The Old Vic: Aricia in Phédre (1984) and Crystal Allen in The Women (1985).
In 1991, Hale starred opposite Glenda Jackson in Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O'Neill, at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. In 1993, she appeared in a production of Alan Ayckbourn's Absurd Person Singular at the Theatre Royal, Bath. In 1994, she appeared opposite Rupert Everett in a production of Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. In 1997, she appeared opposite Alan Bates in Life Support by Simon Gray at the Aldwych Theatre in London. Critic Sheridan Morley wrote in The New York Times that Hale, as the bed-bound Gwen, was "supremely touching even in almost total paralysis".
Other stage appearances include The Guardsman at the Noël Coward Theatre (2000), where New York Times critic Sheridan Morley noted that Hale added "superbly timed comic support", Semi-Monde at the Lyric Theatre (2001), Britannicus (2002), The Cherry Orchard (2002) and Chéri (2003) at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, and Take a Chance on Me at the New End Theatre (2003).
Hale's final stage role was as Nell in Charles Sturridge's production of Endgame by Samuel Beckett at the Gate Theatre, Dublin and then the Barbican, London, as part of the Beckett Centenary Festival in May 2006. The cast also featured Kenneth Cranham, Peter Dinklage and Tom Hickey.
