Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes 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 gen ...

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 was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to Cambridge to read English that he attended an

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Ch ...

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, Lancash ...

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 Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

where his contemporaries included

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has al ...

who later invited him to contribute music to ''

The Mary Whitehouse Experience The ''Mary Whitehouse Experience'' was a British topical sketch comedy show produced by the BBC in association with Spitting Image Productions. It starred two comedy double acts, one being David Baddiel and Rob Newman, the other Steve Punt an ...

'' 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 Honour ...

. On leaving Cambridge, he wrote and composed music for the award winning

Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

series '' And Now In Colour'' but was soon invited to meet

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

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, su ...

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 2013 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 th ...

. Along with his father, Gordon Firth, he created the TV series ''

Roger and the Rotten Trolls ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'' (sometimes called ''The Rottentrolls'') is a children's comedy television series made for ITV by The Children's Company, which combined puppets with live action human actors. It was first broadcast on 13 Septemb ...

'', running for four series' and winning a BAFTA. The spin off series ''

Ripley and Scuff Ripley and Scuff is a children's programme that was produced for ITV's children's strand CITV, and originally aired from 7 January 2002 to 28 February 2003. The show is a spin off to the highly successful ''Roger and the Rottentrolls ''Roge ...

'' also won a BAFTA, and more recently the

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') 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 May 1923 by J ...

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 his TV film ''

The Flint Street Nativity ''The Flint Street Nativity'' is a 1999 British television comedy film directed by Marcus Mortimer, written by Tim Firth, and starring Frank Skinner, Neil Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, John Thomson, Stephen Tompkinson, Mark Addy, Ralf Little, Jul ...

'' 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 actress ...

became the most successful Christmas production in the theatre's history. His play ''

Calendar Girls ''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produ ...

'', adapted by Firth from his own film, found favour with audiences across the UK during its 2008/09 tour, and in the process broke the all time British box office record for a play and also continued to sell out during its West End residency. In 2010, the hit comedy embarked on a UK country wide tour and 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 (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

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 Sian or Siyan may refer to: __NOTOC__ People *Siân, a Welsh girl's name; list of people with this name Places *Sian, Iran (disambiguation), various places in Iran *Sian, Russia, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia *Xi'an, China, formerly roman ...

won Best Supporting Actress. '' The Girls'', directed by Tim Firth, and co-written with Gary Barlow 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 ...

in 2017, winning a WhatsOnStage Award 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 recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

. As ''Calendar Girls: The Musical'', it embarked on a national tour in 2018. In September 2017, Firth’s new musical '' The Band'', 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 singe ...

, was premiered at the

Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the mai ...

, 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 on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

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 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 Edinburgh Fe ...

. For television, his TV credits include ''Money For Nothing'' (which won a Writer’s Guild Award), ''

Roger and the Rottentrolls ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'' (sometimes called ''The Rottentrolls'') is a children's comedy television series made for ITV by The Children's Company, which combined puppets with live action human actors. It was first broadcast on 13 Septemb ...

'' (winner of a BAFTA Award), ''

Cruise of the Gods ''Cruise of the Gods'' is a 2002 British made-for-television comedy-drama film produced by Baby Cow Productions for the BBC. It starred Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, David Walliams and James Corden. It was broadcast in 2002 and has since been rele ...

'', ''The Flint Street Nativity'', ''

All Quiet on the Preston Front ''All Quiet on the Preston Front'' is a BBC comedy drama about a group of friends in the fictional Lancashire town of Roker Bridge, and their links to the local Territorial Army infantry platoon. It was created by Tim Firth. Episodes Three ser ...

'' (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 ( ...

) and '' Kinky Boots'' (2004, Best International Film,

Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational forum ...

), and '' The Wedding Video'' (2014). In 2004, Firth became a Companion of The

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) is a performing arts higher education institution in Liverpool, founded by Paul McCartney and Mark Featherstone-Witty and opened in 1996. LIPA offers 11 full-time BA (Hons) degrees in a range ...

. In March 2010, Firth was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters, honoris causa by the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancell ...

Theatre work

*'' A Different Stage'' (2022) *'' Greatest Days'' (previously titled ''The Band'') (2017) *''

'' (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 recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for Best New Musical (Hilton Award for Best Musical) *''

'' (2008) - What's On Stage Award for Best New Comedy *''Sign of the Times'' (2009) - (developed from A Man Of Letters (1991) *''

'' (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'' (in development) *'' The Wedding Video'' (2012) *'' Kinky Boots'' (2005) *''

'' (2003) *'' Blackball'' (2003)

Television films

*''Trapped'' (also executive producer) - trip of comedy plays (2004) *''

'' - single comedy (2003) *''Border Cafe'' - TV series (2000) *''

'' - TV comedy (1999) *''Neville's Island'' - TV comedy (1998) *''Once Upon a Time in the North'' (1994) *''

'' (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 People from Warrington