Catherine Johnson (playwright)
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Catherine Johnson (born 14 October 1957) is a British playwright, producing works for stage and television. She is best known for her book for the
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...
-inspired musical '' Mamma Mia!'' and screenplay for the musical's film adaptation. The film became the highest-grossing British picture of all time in the UK, and the biggest selling UK DVD of all time in January 2009. She also co-wrote the 2018 sequel, ''
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' is a 2018 British-American jukebox musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Ol Parker, from a story by Parker, Catherine Johnson, and Richard Curtis. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Mamma Mia!'' ...
''. Johnson grew up in
Wickwar Wickwar is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, located between Yate and Charfield. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,943. History Wickwar was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ...
near
Wotton-under-Edge Wotton-under-Edge is a market town within the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Located near the southern fringe of the Cotswolds, the Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the town. Standing on the B4058, Wotton is ab ...
and attended Katharine Lady Berkeley's School in Wotton. She was expelled from school at 16, married at 18 and divorced by the age of 24. She moved to Bristol and finding herself unemployed and with one child to support and another on the way she spotted a notice in the local paper for the
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
/
HTV West ITV Wales and West, previously known as Harlech Television (HTV), was an ITV franchise area in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2013, licensed to a broadcaster by the regulator Ofcom. There is no channel, past or present, named "ITV Wales ...
playwriting competition. She wrote ''Rag Doll'', using the pseudonym Maxwell Smart, a play about incest and child abuse, which won the competition and was staged by the Bristol Old Vic. Further plays for the Bush Theatre in London, Bristol Old Vic and Show of Strength followed along with work on television series including ''
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'', ''Love Hurts'' and ''
Byker Grove Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...
''. In 2007 Johnson instituted The Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play written by the five
Pearson Playwrights' Scheme Pearson Playwrights' Scheme (formerly Thames Television Theatre Writers Scheme) is a British organisation established in 1973 to support theatre writing. It runs the Pearson Award for Best New Play. History In 1973, Howard Thomas, then managing ...
bursary winners from the previous year. Catherine won a bursary from the scheme in 1991. Catherine is a patron of the
Wotton Electric Picture House Wotton may refer to: Places * Wotton, Devon, England * Wotton, Gloucester, an area of Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England *Wotton, Surrey, England **Wotton House, Surrey, a Grade II listed building *Wotton-under-Edge, a town in the Stroud dist ...
in
Wotton-under-Edge Wotton-under-Edge is a market town within the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Located near the southern fringe of the Cotswolds, the Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the town. Standing on the B4058, Wotton is ab ...
, Bristol's Myrtle Theatre Company and ''Arts and Community'' in Thornbury.


Credits


Stage

* ''Rag Doll'' (
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
Studio) (Winner BOV/HTV Playwriting Award) 1988 * ''Boys Mean Business'' ( Bush Theatre) 1989 * ''Dead Sheep'' ( Bush Theatre) (Co-winner
Thames TV Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
Best Play Award) 1991 * ''Too Much Too Young'' (
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
and London Bubble) 1992 * ''Where’s Willy''? (
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
) 1994 * ''Renegades'' (
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
) 1995 * ''Shang-a-Lang'' ( Bush Theatre & tour) 1998 * '' Mamma Mia!'' (LittleStar) 1999 * ''Little Baby Nothing'' ( Bush Theatre) 2003 * ''Through The Wire'' (Shell Connections, RNT) 2005 * ''Through The Wire'' (new version) (Myrtle Theatre, Bristol 2006) * ''City of One'' (Myrtle Theatre, Bristol 2008) * ''Trade It?'' ( Show of Strength), Bristol 2008, contributor * ''Suspension'' (
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
) 2009


Television series

* ''
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'' (Season 7, 1992, episodes 5 & 13)
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...
*''Love Hurts'' (Season 2, episodes 5 & 7; Season 3 episodes 1, 2, 3, & 10)
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...
*'' Band of Gold'' (Series 3, episodes 5 & 6)
Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...
*''
Byker Grove Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...
'' (Series 9)
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...
*''Love in the 21st Century'' (episodes 2, 3 & 5)
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
*''Linda Green'' (episode 3)
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...


Television films

*''Rag Doll'' ( HTV) *''Just Like Eddie'' ( HTV) *''Where’s Willy?'' ( HTV) *''Sin Bin'' (
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...
) *''Forget You Ever Had Children'' (Picture Palace/ITV) in production *''Dappers'' (pilot – in production)
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...


Feature films

''
Mamma Mia! (film series) ''Mamma Mia!'' (promoted as ''Mamma Mia! The Movie'') is a 2008 jukebox musical romantic comedy film directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Catherine Johnson (playwright), Catherine Johnson, based on her book from the 1999 Mamma Mia! (musical), ...
'' *''
Mamma Mia! The Movie ''Mamma Mia!'' (promoted as ''Mamma Mia! The Movie'') is a 2008 jukebox musical romantic comedy film directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Catherine Johnson, based on her book from the 1999 musical of the same name. The film is based on the ...
'' – screenplay *''
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' is a 2018 British-American jukebox musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Ol Parker, from a story by Parker, Catherine Johnson, and Richard Curtis. It is the sequel to the 2008 film ''Mamma Mia!'' ...
'' – story


Awards

Her career accolades to date include the
Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
/ HTV Playwriting award (1987), and the Thames Television Writer-in-Residence and Best Play awards (1991) ''Mamma Mia!'' was also nominated for an
Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...
for Best New Musical (2000) and for a
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
for Best Book of a Musical Book (2002). Catherine received ''The UK Film Council script award'' at The Women in Film and TV 2008 Awards and also jointly with
Judy Craymer Judith Sarah Jarman Craymer (born 26 October 1957) is an English creator and producer of musical theatre who has also worked in the film, television and music industries. She is the founder of Littlestar Services Ltd. Craymer worked on '' Mamma ...
and
Phyllida Lloyd Phyllida Christian Lloyd, (born 17 June 1957) is an English film director and producer, best known for ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008) and '' The Iron Lady'' (2011). Her theatre work includes directing productions at the Royal Court Theatre and Royal Na ...
, ''The ITV achievement of the year award''. '' Mamma Mia!'' was named Best Musical at the UK National Film Awards in September 2008, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy in December 2008. In January 2009, ''Mamma Mia!'' was nominated for the ''Outstanding British Film'' award at the BAFTA
62nd British Academy Film Awards The 62nd British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, took place on 8 February 2009 and honoured the best films of 2008. Winners and nominees Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema * Pinewood ...
.


See also

*'' Mamma Mia!'' *''
Mamma Mia! (film) ''Mamma Mia!'' (promoted as ''Mamma Mia! The Movie'') is a 2008 jukebox musical romantic comedy film directed by Phyllida Lloyd and written by Catherine Johnson, based on her book from the 1999 musical of the same name. The film is based on th ...
''


References


External links

*
Johnson speaks about Mamma Mia, BBC Points West, 9 July 2008


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Catherine 1957 births British dramatists and playwrights Culture in Bristol Living people People educated at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School Writers from Bristol Writers from Suffolk People from Wickwar WFTV Award winners