Richy Hughes is an English

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

and theatre maker from

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

Richy Hughes was born in 1974, and attended

Coopers' Company and Coborn School The Coopers' Company and Coborn School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Upminster area of the London Borough of Havering, England. Admissions The school is (since 2005) a non-selective school described by ...

Upminster Upminster is a suburb of east London, England, in the London Borough of Havering, northeast of Charing Cross. Historically a rural village, it formed an ancient parish in the Chafford hundred of the county of Essex. The economic history of ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. He regularly wrote and performed end of year revues, and won the school's Prize for Art in 1992. He went on to study Illustration at the Kent Institute of Art and Design. From an early age Hughes was an active member of the

amateur dramatics Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

scene in his home town of

, starring in numerous roles including Sidney Carton in a musical premiere of

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

, Riff in

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

, and Billy Bigelow in

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

. In 1999, he founded a youth theatre company known as ''Arts Factory''.

Career

Early career

Hughes' break into professional theatre came in 2012, when he entered a song into an open submission for ''A Song Cycle For Soho'' at the

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

. The comic song, entitled 'It's What He Would’ve Wanted', written with composer Scott Dean, tells the story of ‘Jimmy The Fox’ whose corpse is ‘borrowed’ from the undertakers on the eve of his funeral for one last bender in Soho. In 2012, he joined the Book, Music, Lyrics professional writers’ workshop. Here he honed his lyric-writing craft under the tutelage of such esteemed theatre practitioners as

Jeremy Sams Jeremy Sams (born 12 January 1957) is a British theatre director, composer, and lyricist. Early life and education Sams is the son of the Shakespearean scholar and musicologist Eric Sams. He read music, French, and German at Magdalene Colleg ...

, Charles Hart, Tim Sutton, David Firman, Mark Warman, George Stiles and

Anthony Drewe Anthony Drewe is a British lyricist and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles. Education He was educated at Maidstone Grammar School between 1974–1980. He studied Zoolog ...

2015 – Mr Popper's Penguins

Hughes' first professional commissions came after producer Kenny Wax attended a showcase of Book, Music, Lyrics alumni. Wax was impressed with Hughes' lyrics and invited him to collaborate on a new family musical adaptation of children's book, Mr Popper's Penguins. The production premiered at

The Lowry Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex opened ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 2015, and has had runs at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

in London's West End, the

New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater is a theatre (building), theater at 209 42nd Street (Manhattan), West 42nd Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republ ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and the

Seattle Children's Theatre The Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) is a resident theatre for young audiences in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1975. Its main performances are at the Seattle Center in a 482-seat and a 275-seat theatre, and its main theater runs from June thr ...

, as well as extensive US and UK tours. The show was co-produced by Pins & Needles Productions, Kenny Wax Family Entertainment, and TC Beech, with songs written in collaboration with composer Luke Bateman.

2017 – Superhero

At the Book, Music, Lyrics Workshop, Hughes met composer Joseph Finlay and bookwriter Michael Conley, his collaborators on Superhero, which premiered at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...

in June 2017. The song 'Don't Look Down', taken from the show won The Stiles and Drew Best New Song Prize in 2015, at an event at the

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...

, produced by Mercury Musical Developments and hosted by

Elaine Paige Dame Elaine Jill Paige (born Elaine Jill Bickerstaff, 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, m ...

. The show went on to win the Off West End Theatre Award (Offie) for best new musical in 2018. Micheal Rouse also won the Offie for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Colin Bradley in the same year.

2019 – Oi Frog and Friends

In 2019, Hughes and Pins & Needles Productions adapted Kes Gray and Jim Field's best-selling children's book series ''Oi Frog and Friends'' for the stage. This time, Hughes played a key role in the development and writing of the script with his co-collaborators Emma Earle, Zoe Squire and Luke Bateman, as well as writing lyrics. The production premiered at Frensham Heights in October 2019 before going on to a critically acclaimed run at the Lyric Theatre in the West End. In 2020, the show was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Family Show.

Personal life

Hughes currently lives in

Orsett Orsett is a village, Ward (electoral subdivision), ward, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, it is north-east of Grays, Essex, Grays. In 2011 the ward had a population of 6,1 ...

with his wife, Nikki, and his children Jessie and Harry. In May 2022 Hughes appeared on the fifth series of ITV game show

Beat the Chasers ''The Chase'' is a British television quiz show broadcast on the ITV network, hosted by Bradley Walsh. Contestants play against a professional quizzer, known as the "Chaser", who attempts to prevent them from winning a cash prize. , the six ch ...

Musical theatre credits

*''A Song Cycle For Soho'' (2012) - lyrics *''Mercury Musical Developments 25th Anniversary Gala'' (2013) - lyrics *''Mr Popper's Penguins'' (2015) - lyrics *''Superhero'' (2017) - lyrics * ''Oi Frog and Friends'' (2019) - lyrics & script

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Richy Hughes Official Website

Book Music and Lyrics Workshop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Richy 1974 births Living people People from Essex People from Thurrock People from Orsett English musical theatre lyricists