‘Song Making’

Tutor: Willy Russell – Writer

Willy Russell’s career spans more than four decades; born in Liverpool in 1947, he left school at 15, became a women’s hairdresser, part-time singer/songwriter before returning to education and becoming a teacher.

Russell’s breakthrough work, commissioned by Liverpool Everyman, “John Paul George Ringo…and Bert” transferred to the West End winning Best Musical – Evening Standard and London Theatre Critics Awards.

Two of Willy’s best-known plays have female protagonists, “Educating Rita” (Olivier Award for Best Comedy  and  “Shirley Valentine “ (Olivier Award – Best New Comedy & Best New Actress, Tony Awards, Broadway – Best Actress). Both became successful films  – Julie Walters and Pauline Collins who played the roles on stage received Oscar nominations as did  Willy Russell for  the screenplay of Educating Rita.

“Blood Brothers,” (Laurence Olivier Award, Best New Musical, 1983), played for 24 years becoming the 3rd longest running West End musical. Major foreign productions include a 2 year run on Broadway, with recent productions in South Africa and Korea and current productions in  Australia and Japan. The UK tour is still playing to packed houses. 

“Our Day Out,” originally written for TV,  about a school outing, has been adapted for the stage as  “Our Day Out – The Musical”. Premiered at Liverpool’s Royal Court in 2010 to rave reviews it was revived a year later for another sell out season.

The critically acclaimed novel, “The Wrong Boy” was published in 2000 and translated worldwide.

For further information please visit willyrussell.com

Photo: paulcoxphotos.co.uk

Tutor: Nick Stimson – Playwright

Nick Stimson is a freelance playwright and theatre director. He is also Associate Director of The Theatre Royal, Plymouth. He has directed many major productions in the UK and Europe and has written over produced 60 plays including musicals, straight plays, and plays for radio and television.  He has also published three collections of poetry. (‘In Magnet Air’ Phoenix-Springwood; ‘Histories’ Priapus Press; ‘Flying Pigs’ Enitharmon.)

Past productions include: writer and director of ‘A Winter’s Tale’ (with Howard Goodall) at The Sage, Gateshead, The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and the Landor Theatre, London (winner of Best Off West musical at the Offies 1914); writer and director of ’Sailors and Sweethearts’, a play about the artist Beryl Cook, at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth; writer and director of ‘NHS The Musical’ (with music by Jimmy Jewell) at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth and the The Venue, Leicester Square, London; writer of ‘Hello Mister Capello’ for the Palace Theatre, Watford; co-writer of ‘Promised Land’ (written with Anthony Clavane) for Red Ladder Theatre, The Carriage Works, Leeds; writer of ‘Who Ate All The Pies?’ (with music by Jimmy Jewell) at the Tristan Bates Theatre, London; writer of ‘The Venus Factor’ (with music and lyrics by Annemarie Lewis Thomas) for the MTA at the Bridewell Theatre, London; writer and director of ‘Korczak’ (with music by Chris Williams ) at Theatre Royal, Plymouth, The Rose Theatre, London and Bialystok Opera Poland (international tour); writer and director of ‘The Day We Played Brazil’ (with music by Chris Williams) for the Northcott Theatre, Exeter. 

Forthcoming productions include ‘Inventing Utopia’ a play about Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst and the founding of Dartington for production at Dartington in November 2016;  ‘Gabriel’ (with the composer Andrew Fisher) for production in Southampton in December 2016, and a new production of ‘Korczak’ by Polski Theatre, Wroclaw, also in December 2016.

Current projects include a major rewrite ‘Dangerous Daughters’, a musical about the Pankhursts, for publication and production in London in 2017 and adapting ‘The Time Machine’ (both with music by Annemarie Lewis-Thomas) for production in London in 2018.  He is also working on a new play about the painter Stanley Spencer and a play about the farming industry.  Nick is also working with the singer and composer Seth Lakeman on a major project for the Theatre Royal Plymouth about the Pilgrim Fathers and their coming to the New World. 

He has also recently written his first novel, ‘The Piano Maker’.

Nick Stimson is represented by Kate Weston of Janet Fillingham Associates. www.janetfillingham.com

Bursaries are available for this course.

Single – En-suite room £760
Single – Shared bathroom £710
Shared Room (2 Beds) £660
Non-residential (inc. lunch and evening meal) £500

Nearest station: Garsdale – direct line from Leeds.