Willy Russell

Thursday, April 20, 2023

L.O.: To write anIntroduction for C20Drama essay.

Starter activity:write down 5 points that you remember from the film “OurDay Out”

Biography

• Willy Russell was born in Whiston, near Liverpool, England, in 1947. Russell has written a string of popular, award-winning plays and musicals, but perhaps one of the most well known is Educating Rita which was successfully made into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Other well known Russell works include Shirley Valentine and Blood Brothers.

Introduction to play

When Mrs Kay's 'Progress Class' are unleashed for a day's coach trip to Conway Castle in Wales, it is an exuberant celebration of the joys and agonies of growing up and being footloose, fourteen and free from school. But this is more than a romp - it points up the depressing present and empty future for these comprehensive no-hopers from the backstreets of Liverpool, for whom a day out is as much as they can expect.

Written in long hand in only five days, Willy found this reality based drama easy to write. He had taught at Dingle Vale school, one of the locations used in the film and had experienced similar school trips both as a child and a teacher.

Willy’s influence?

Russell based his characters on archetypal students within society. Willy had taught within ‘rough’ schools in Liverpool and new that these characters would be immediately recognisable to his audience. He was adamant though that these characters were not stereotypes – they were merely representations of socially recognisable kids in society.