Willy Russell
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William Martin Russell (born 23 August 1947 in Whiston, Merseyside) is a British playwright, lyricist and composer.
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[edit] Life
Russell comes from a working class background. He grew up with mostly women around him: his mother, grandmother and his aunts. This had a big influence on his work and writing about women, and class, such as Shirley Valentine, Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons and Rita in Educating Rita.
After leaving school with one English O-level, first he became a ladies hairdresser and ran his own salon. Russell then undertook a variety of jobs, also writing songs which were performed in local folk clubs. Besides he wrote songs and sketches for local radio programmes. At 20 years of age, he returned to college and became a teacher in Toxteth. Around this time he met his later wife Annie and became interested in writing drama.
[edit] Work
His first success was a play about The Beatles called John, Paul, George, Ringo ...and Bert commissioned for the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and transfering to the West End in 1974. Two of his later plays became outstanding successes. One was Educating Rita, about a working-class female hairdresser and her Open University teacher. The semi-autobiographical Educating Rita was made into a film in 1983 starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. The second was the musical Blood Brothers for which Russell also composed the music. It was produced in 1983; first opened in Liverpool but then transferred to London. However, it was not very successful and closed. Bill Kenwright opened a new production in 1988, along with the show opening on Broadway in 1993.
2000 Russell published his first novel The wrong boy: In epistolary form, main character Raymond Marks, a 19-year old from Manchester, tells the story of his life in letters to his hero Morrissey.
Willy Russell has written songs since the early 1960s, indeed he has written the music to most of his plays and musicals. His first album, Hoovering the Moon, was released in 2003.
[edit] List of Plays, musicals and films (incomplete)
- Keep your eyes down (play 1971)
- Sam O'Shanker (Play 1972, musical 1973)
- Blind Scouse (1972)
- John, Paul, George, Ringo ...and Bert (musical 1974)
- Breezeblock Park (play 1974)
- Our Day Out (made-for-TV film 1976)
- Stags and Hens (1978 play and film)
- Educating Rita (play 1980, film 1983)
- Blood Brothers (musical 1983)
- Shirley Valentine (play 1988, film 1989)
- Dancin' Thru the Dark (film 1990, a adaption of Stags and Hens)
- Terraces (film 1993)
[edit] Prose
- The wrong boy (2000)
===Albums===hgiuiu
- Hoovering the moon (2003)
[edit] Awards
- In 1980 he won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for his play Educating Rita.
- In 1983 he won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical for the musical Blood Brothers.
- In 1984 he won a Oscar nominated for best screenplay for Educating Rita
- In 1988 he won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for his play Shirley Valentine.
- Has twice been nominated for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1989 as author of Best Play nominee Shirley Valentine and in 1993 as Best Book (Musical) for Blood Brothers.
