Willy Russell
| Willy Russell | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Russell 23 August 1947 . Whiston, Liverpool, England |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, author, lyricist, composer |
| Spouse | Annie Seagroatt (1969–present) |
| Child(ren) | 3 |
| Information | |
| Debut works | John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert |
| Notable work(s) |
Educating Rita Shirley Valentine Blood Brothers Our Day Out |
| Website | http://www.willyrussell.com |
William "Willy" Russell (born 23 August 1947) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine, Blood Brothers and Our Day Out.
Russell was born in Whiston, Lancashire, near Liverpool. On leaving school, aged 15, until he became a ladies hairdresser eventually running his own salon until the age of 21 when he decided to try to go back to college, eventually qualifying as a teacher. During these years Russell also worked as a semi-professional singer, writing and performing his own songs on the then flourishing and vibrant folk scene. Whilst at St Katharine’s College, he began writing drama and, in 1972, took a programme of three one-act plays to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where they were seen by writer John McGrath. McGrath recommended Russell to the Liverpool Everyman who commissioned the adaptation, When The Reds… Russell’s first professional work for theatre.
The first play Russell wrote was Keep Your Eyes Down (1971) written while he attended St. Katherine's College of Higher Education in Liverpool.
In 1974 Russell wrote John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert, a musical about the Beatles. Commissioned by the Liverpool Everyman, it ran for a (then) unprecedented eight weeks before transferring to the West End where it ran for over a year, winning the Evening Standard and London Theatre Critics awards for the best musical of 1974. It premiered at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, and then transferred to the Lyric Theatre in the West End in 1974.
Alongside further stage works, One For the Road (1976) and Stags and Hens (1978) Russell proved himself a gifted and accomplished screenwriter with television films, Death of A Young Young Man, Daughters of Albion, Our Day Out and One Summer, all consolidating his reputation as a writer whose work could reach a wide audience without ever compromising the seriousness that lies at the heart of all his work.
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