Tim Firth

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Tim Firth (born October 13, 1964 in Warrington , Lancashire , England ) is a British playwright , screenwriter and songwriter . Occasionally he was also involved in the implementation of his scripts as an executive producer .

life and career

Firth was born in Warrington (Lancashire) in the north of England and grew up in Frodsham ( Cheshire ). During his school days he began to write and compose songs. A few weeks before starting his English studies at the University of Cambridge , he attended a course at the Arvon Foundation in West Yorkshire . This was led by Willy Russell and brought Firth for the first time to write a dialogue. He settled on the subject he understood the most: two sixteen year olds trying to write a song. Another student secured the rights to the short piece for his production company and Firth decided to embark on a career as a writer. During his time at Cambridge he became part of the Footlights . At the same time, David Baddiel was a member of the renowned amateur theater club, Baddiel later came back to Firth when he needed music for his BBC radio program The Mary Whitehouse Experience . Sam Mendes directed each of Firth's first plays with the Footlights .

After graduating from university, he wrote and composed the music for the Radio Four radio play series And Now In Color , soon followed by an invitation to Scarborough , where he met Alan Ayckbourn and was commissioned to write a piece for the studio at the Stephen Joseph Theater . His one-act play A Man Of Letters was a success and led to the appointment by Ayckbourn for writing a longer piece. The result, Neville's Island , later moved to London's West End and has since been performed almost continuously in various international productions (including various translations).

Together with his father Gordon Firth, he designed a children's audiobook for WH Smith and EMI, later it was adapted as a television series with Roger and the Rottentrolls .

For two consecutive seasons around Christmas, the stage version of his television film The Flint Street Nativity at the Liverpool Playhouse became the most successful Christmas production in the history of the old theater.

His play Calendar Girls ( UA 2008), the adaptation of his 2003 film of the same name , was particularly popular with British audiences during the 2008-2009 nationwide tour. It broke the British record for the most successful play of all time and was consistently sold out in the West End during the following season. In 2010, the hit comedy embarked on a nationwide tour again, making it one of the most extensive in British theater history.

On June 19, 2013, Firth's first solo musical This Is My Family premiered at the Crucible Theater. Firth wrote the book and lyrics as well as the music for it, directed by Daniel Evans. After the season in London, this play also embarked on a nationwide tour starting at the Lyceum Theater in Sheffield in October 2014. This Is My Family won the UK Theater Award for Best New Musical, Dame Siân Phillips DBE won the award for Best Supporting Actress.

Gary Barlow's musical The Girls , another adaptation of Firth's film Calendar Girls , was directed by Firth in addition to his authorship. Songwriter / musician and playwright Barlow Firth, both grew up in the northwestern English village Frodsham and went to the same school, was The Girls the first joint project. The play first opened in various locations in northern England (setting) and was transferred to the Phoenix Theater in London in 2017, where the production won a Whatsonstage Award and was nominated for three Olivier . In 2018 the musical will go on a nationwide tour.

In September 2017 Firth's new musical The Band premiered at the Manchester Opera House and then went on tour as well. It is a jukebox musical based on the music (and the plot loosely based on the opening story) of Take That .

Firth released his solo album Harmless Flirting in 2004 as the conclusion of a tour in words and music with fellow dramatist Willy Russell. The Edinburgh Festival performance received consistently positive reviews.

In the same year Firth was inducted into the Companions of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

In March 2010 Firth received an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters, honoris causa) from the University of Chester .

Plays

The specified years refer to the year of the premiere of the respective work.

  • 1992: Neville's Island - Nomination for Olivier for Best Comedy (1995)
  • 2002: The Safari Party
  • 2006: The Flint Street Nativity
  • 2009: Sign of the Times (based on A Man Of Letters , 1991)
  • 2008: Calendar Girls (adaptation of his feature film script) - Received the What's On Stage Award for Best New Comedy
  • 2003: Our House - jukebox musical about the music of Madness - Awarded the Olivier for Best New Musical (2003); Hilton Award for Best Musical
  • 2013: Neville's Island (completely reworked for the Chichester Festival Theater )
  • 2013: This Is My Family - Received the UK Theater Award for Best New Musical (also Best Supporting Actress : Siân Phillips )
  • 2015: The Girls (adaptation of his feature film script) - musical by Gary Barlow
  • 2017: The Band - jukebox musical based on the music of Take That

Scripts

Feature films (selection)
watch TV
  • 1994: All Quiet on the Preston Front
  • 1994: Once Upon a Time in the North
  • 1995: Preston Front Series 2
  • 1997: Preston Front Series 3
  • 1998: Neville's Island (TV movie)
  • 1999: The Flint Street Nativity (TV movie)
  • 2000: Border Cafe (TV series)
  • 2003: Cruise of the Gods (TV movie)
  • 2004: Trapped (three-part series; also involved as executive producer )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Claire Brennan: 'This Is My Family' - review In: The Guardian, June 29, 2013.
  2. ^ Alfred Hickling: 'This Is My Family' review - Tim Firth's warm and winning musical In: The Guardian, October 15, 2014
  3. ↑ UK Theater Awards uktheatre.org, accessed 21 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Annual Review, 2010 chester.ac.uk, p. 87, accessed October 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Olivier Awards 1995 olivierawards.com, accessed February 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ Olivier Awards 2003 olivierawards.com, accessed February 22, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Firth, Tim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British playwright, screenwriter and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH October 13, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Warrington , Lancashire , England