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Russell, Willy

William Russell was born in 1947 in Whiston, Lancashire, and attended school until the age of 15. After secondary school, he became a ladies’ hairdresser, which he continued to do for five years, eventually running his own salon. In his early twenties, after a successful career in hairdressing, Russell decided to return to college, where he trained to be a teacher. His experiences about the power of education to transform lives are a pivotal theme in some of his works, such as Educating Rita.

During his time teaching, Russell started writing short dramas, and he performed three one-act plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1972. It was here that his plays were seen by the playwright John Peter McGrath. McGrath was well established in the theatre world and recommended Russell’s work to the Liverpool Everyman, where Russell’s first professional production took place.

Two years later, Russell had his first major theatrical success with his play based on the Beatles, entitled John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert, which won the Evening Standard and London Theatre Critics Award for Best Musical.

The 1980s were Russell’s most prolific decade for writing plays. In 1980 he wrote Educating Rita about a working-class woman who wants to study for a degree at the Open University. The play was so successful that in the same year it premiered at the Warehouse, London, it was transferred to the West End. Educating Rita received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, and a feature film of the play was made in 1983.

Russell’s other runaway success, Blood Brothers, was also written and produced at this time. Set in Liverpool, it chronicles the lives of a pair of twins separated at birth and the different lives they experience due to the social environments in which they mature. This play includes many of the same themes of class, education and social inequality which were prominent in Educating Rita. Like Educating Rita, Blood Brothers received a Laurence Olivier Award, this time for Best New Musical, and started its very lengthy run on the West End.

The 1980s continued to be rich in creativity for Russell as in 1988 he wrote Shirley Valentine, a play about a housewife whose life is transformed after a holiday in Greece. In the same year, the play received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, and the following year a feature film was released. Shirley Valentine received the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Screenplay in 1990 after the play had been transferred to Broadway in New York.

In 2000 Russell published his first novel, The Wrong Boy, and four years later released his first music album, Hoovering the Moon.

Russell’s work continues to have a prominent place in the theatre today, with Blood Brothers and Educating Rita being regularly performed on stages across the UK. In 2013, an archive of Russell’s work was opened at Liverpool John Moores University.

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ralph_McTell_and_Willy_Russell_(82088880).jpg
Author: Bryan Ledgard
Licence: Creative Commons
Changes made: cropped
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1947

Born

Russell was born on 23rd August in Whiston, Lancashire.
1962

Schooling

Russell left school aged 15 and became a ladies’ hairdresser.
1967

Teacher training

He returned to college and qualified as a teacher.
1972

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Russell performed three one-act plays at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. These were seen by John McGrath, leading to Russell having his first professional work, When the Reds, produced for the theatre.
1974

Beatles musical received an award

John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert won the Evening Standard and London Theatre Critics Award for Best Musical.

Read some reviews of the musical

1980

Educating Rita premiered

This play about a working-class woman who wants to study for a degree at the Open University premiered at the Warehouse, London, and then transferred to the West End.
1980

Awards

Educating Rita received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.
1983

Awards

Blood Brothers started its run on the West End and received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
1983

Feature film

The feature film of Educating Rita was released.

Watch the original trailer

1988

Shirley Valentine produced

Shirley Valentine, about a housewife whose life is transformed after a holiday in Greece, was produced.
1988

Awards

Shirley Valentine received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.
1989

Feature film

The feature film of Shirley Valentine was released.

Watch the trailer

1989

Broadway

Shirley Valentine was transferred to Broadway in New York.
1990

Awards

Shirley Valentine received the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Screenplay.
1993

Awards

The Broadway production of Blood Brothers was nominated for Tony Award Best Musical.
2000

First novel published

Russell published his first novel, The Wrong Boy.

Read a review of the book

2004

First music album released

Russell released his first album, Hoovering the Moon, on Pure Records.
2013

Honours

Liverpool John Moores University opened the Willy Russell Archive.

Find out more about the archive