Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English
dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just
reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...
,
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and
songwriter
A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
.
Life and career
Firth was born in
Frodsham
Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population in 2021 was 9,300. It is south of Liverpool and southwest of Man ...
,
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 ...
. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to King's College, Cambridge to read English that he attended an
Arvon Foundation course in West Yorkshire. This was run by
Willy Russell
William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are '' Educating Rita'', '' Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and '' Our Day Out''.
Early life
Russell was born in Whiston, Lanc ...
and whilst on it, Firth had to write dialogue. He wrote about the only thing he knew - two sixteen-year-olds trying to write a song. Another course participant optioned it for his production company and Firth decided to become a writer. While at Cambridge he joined the
Footlights
The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...
where his contemporaries included fellow King's student
David Baddiel who later invited him to contribute music to ''
The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' on BBC radio. His first plays at this time were all directed by
Sam Mendes
Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...
.
On leaving Cambridge, he wrote and composed music for the award winning
Radio Four series ''
And Now In Colour'' but was soon invited to meet
Alan Ayckbourn in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
and commissioned to write a play for the studio at the
Stephen Joseph Theatre. His one-act play ''A Man of Letters'' was a success and led to the commissioning of a full-length play from Ayckbourn, ''
Neville's Island'', which later transferred to the West End, has been seen in translation all round the world and has been in almost continuous production since its premiere. It was revived in the West End in 2014 at the
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...
.
Along with his father, Gordon Firth, he created the TV series ''
Roger and the Rotten Trolls'', running for four series' and winning a
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
. The spin off series ''
Ripley and Scuff'' also won a BAFTA, and more recently the
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
voted the original series one of the 50 Greatest Children's TV Shows of All Time.
During two successive Christmas runs, the stage version of Firth's TV film ''
The Flint Street Nativity'' at the
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...
became the most successful Christmas production in the theatre's history. His play ''
Calendar Girls'', adapted by Firth from
his own film, found favour with audiences across Britain during its 2008/09 tour. In the process it broke the all-time British box-office record for a play and also continued to sell out during its months in the West End. In 2010, a company took the hit comedy out on a national tour, and it has since been produced worldwide.
2013 marked the premiere of Firth's first solo musical, ''This Is My Family'' for which he wrote book, lyrics and music. Directed by
Daniel Evans, it premiered at the
Crucible Theatre
The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city.
...
on 19 June 2013, and then embarked on a UK national tour, starting at the
Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield in October 2014. ''This Is My Family'' won the
UK Theatre Award for Best New Musical and
Sian Phillips won Best Supporting Actress.
''
The Girls'', directed by Tim Firth, and co-written with
Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That.
Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...
opened at the
Phoenix Theatre, London
The Phoenix Theatre is a West End theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located in Charing Cross Road (on the corner of Flitcroft Street). The entrances are on Phoenix Street and Charing Cross Road. The Phoenix Theatre was built on the sit ...
in 2017, winning a
WhatsOnStage Award
The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements in UK theatre, with categories covering both regional p ...
and being nominated for three
Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
. As ''Calendar Girls: The Musical'', it embarked on a national tour in 2018.
In September 2017, Firth’s new musical ''
The Band
The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...
'', featuring the music of
Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
, was premiered at the
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring Theatre (structure), theatre that plays host to touring Musical theatre, musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed buil ...
, prior to a national tour. It had a West End season at the
Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...
in 2018.
In 2004, Firth released a solo album, ''Harmless Flirting'', completing a tour of words and music with fellow playwright Willy Russell that won positive reviews at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
.
For television, his TV credits include ''Money For Nothing'' (which won a Writer’s Guild Award), ''
Roger and the Rottentrolls'' (winner of a
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
Award), ''
Cruise of the Gods'', ''The Flint Street Nativity'', ''
All Quiet on the Preston Front'' (winning a Writer’s Guild Award, British Comedy Award,
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Award and BAFTA nomination). Tim also produced a season of single comedy plays entitled ''Trapped'', and wrote the Sky Arts single drama ''Timeless''.
Tim’s film credits include ''
Blackball'' (2002), ''Calendar Girls'' (2002, which won a
British Comedy Award
The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.
The British Comedy Awards (1 ...
) and ''
Kinky Boots'' (2004, Best International Film,
Florida Film Festival), and ''
The Wedding Video'' (2014).
In 2004, Firth became a Companion of The
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cul ...
.
In March 2010, Firth was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters, honoris causa by the
University of Chester
The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campuses, campus sites in and around Ch ...
.
Theatre work
*''
A Different Stage'' (2022)
*''
Greatest Days'' (previously titled ''The Band'') (2017)
*''
Calendar Girls'' (2015)
*''
This Is My Family'' (2013) - Awarded Best New Musical - UK Theatre Awards, (including Best Supporting Actress for Sian Philips)
*''
Neville's Island'' (revival) Chichester (2013)
*''
Our House'' (2003) - 2003
Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...
for Best New Musical (Hilton Award for Best Musical)
*''
Calendar Girls'' (2008) - What's On Stage Award for Best New Comedy
*''Sign of the Times'' (2009) - (developed from A Man Of Letters (1991)
*''
The Flint Street Nativity'' (2006)
*''The Safari Party'' (2002)
*''
Neville’s Island'' (1992) - Nominated for Olivier Award for Best Comedy, 1995
"Olivier Awards, 1995"
olivierawards.com, retrieved 22 February 2017
Selected filmography as writer (or co-writer)
*'' Greatest Days'' (2023)
*'' The Wedding Video'' (2012)
*'' Kinky Boots'' (2005)
*'' Calendar Girls'' (2003)
*'' Blackball'' (2003)
Television films
*''Trapped'' (also executive producer) - trip of comedy plays (2004)
*'' Cruise of the Gods'' - single comedy (2003)
*''Border Cafe'' - TV series (2000)
*'' The Flint Street Nativity'' - TV comedy (1999)
*'' Neville's Island'' - TV comedy (1998)
*''Once Upon a Time in the North'' (1994)
*'' All Quiet on the Preston Front'' (1994)
References
External links
Official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Tim
English dramatists and playwrights
English screenwriters
English male screenwriters
Living people
1964 births
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
English male dramatists and playwrights
Writers from Warrington
People from Frodsham