Russell, Willy

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English dramatist and screenwriter. His plays usually address social class divisions and are set in his native Liverpool. His best-known plays include Educating Rita (1979) and Shirley Valentine (1986), both of which were made into successful films. He also wrote the musical Blood Brothers (1983).

Many of Russell's works have gained international acclaim, particularly through their film adaptations. Stags and Hens (1978) was filmed under the title Dancin' thru' the Dark (1990). Educating Rita tells the story of a middle-class lecturer who encounters a working-class mature female student who challenges his presuppositions about life. This play was made into a film in 1981 starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters; the screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. Blood Brothers, a musical, is a Liverpudlian West Side Story, about twins who are separated and brought up in diverse social backgrounds. Shirley Valentine is a monologue given by a Liverpudlian woman having a mid-life crisis. The play won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy of the Year in 1989, and the film version, starring Pauline Collins, was also a critically acclaimed success.

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