Richy Hughes
Richy Hughes is an English Musical Theatre lyricist and Theatre Maker from Thurrock, England.
Richy Hughes | |
---|---|
![]() Richy Hughes outside The Lyric Theatre, West End, at the premiere of Olivier nominated ‘Oi Frog and Friends.’ | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Richard Paul Hughes |
Born | 1974 (age 46–47) Orsett, England |
Origin | London, England |
Genres | Musical Theatre |
Occupation(s) | Lyricist, Bookwriter, Theatre Maker |
Years active | 2012-present |
Associated acts | Luke Bateman, Joseph Finlay, Michael Conley, Ed Bell |
Website | www |
Early life
Richy Hughes was born in 1974, and attended Coopers' Company and Coborn School in Upminster, Essex. 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 Richy was an active member of the amateur dramatics scene in his home town of Thurrock, starring in numerous roles including Sidney Carton in a musical premiere of A Tale of Two Cities, Riff in West Side Story, and Billy Bigelow in Carousel.
In 1999, Richy founded a youth theatre company known as Arts Factory.[1]
Career
Early career
Richy's 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. 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.[2]
In 2012, he joined the Book, Music, Lyrics professional writers’ workshop.[3] Here he honed his lyric-writing craft under the tutelage of such esteemed theatre practitioners as Jeremy Sams, Charles Hart, Tim Sutton, David Firman, Mark Warman, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.[4]
2015 - Mr Popper's Penguins
Richy's first professional commissions came after producer Kenny Wax attended a showcase of Book, Music, Lyrics alumni. Kenny was impressed with Richy's lyric-writing ability and invited him to collaborate on a new family musical adaptation of children's book, Mr Popper's Penguins.[5] The production premiered at The Lowry in Manchester in 2015,[6] and has enjoyed runs at the Criterion Theatre in London's West End,[7] the New Victory Theater in New York City,[8] and the Seattle Children's Theatre,[9] 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.[10]
2017 - Superhero
It was at the Book, Music, Lyrics Workshop that Richy met composer Joseph Finlay and bookwriter Michael Conley, his collaborators on Superhero, which premiered at Southwark Playhouse in June 2017.[11] 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, produced by Mercury Musical Developments and hosted by Elaine Paige.[12] 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.[13]
2019 - Oi Frog and Friends
In 2019, Richy teamed up with Pins & Needles Productions to adapt Kes Gray and Jim Field's best-selling children's book series Oi Frog and Friends for the stage.[14] This time, Richy 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[15] before going on to a critically acclaimed run at the Lyric Theatre in the West End.[16] In 2020, the show was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Family Show.[17]
Personal life
Richy currently lives in Orsett, Essex with his wife, Nikki, and his children Jessie and Harry.[1]
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
Year | Song/Musical | Award | Composer | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Pushy | Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize | Ed Bell | Finalist | [18] |
2015 | Don't Look Down (from Superhero) | Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize | Joseph Finlay | Winner | [12] |
2015 | The Original Headline Act For Christmas | Xmas Factor Best Song | Ed Bell | Finalist | [19] |
2017 | The Beautiful Game | Xmas Factor All Stars Best Song | Darren Clark | Winner | [20] |
2018 | Superhero | Off West End Theatre Award Best New Musical | Joseph Finlay | Winner | [13] |
2020 | Oi Frog and Friends | Laurence Olivier Award Best Family Show | Luke Bateman | Nominated | [17] |
References
- Hughes, Richy (2020-04-14). "Early and Personal Life". artsfactory@btopenworld.com.
- "A SONG CYCLE FOR SOHO - Original Cast Recording". simgproductions.com. No. 14 in Track Listing. Retrieved 2020-04-15.CS1 maint: location (link)
- "Richy Hughes Official Website". www.richyhughes.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Meet the Team". Book Music and Lyrics Workshop. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Mr Popper's Penguins". Book Music and Lyrics Workshop. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Mr Popper's Penguins – Lowry, Salford". Musical Theatre Review. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Mr Popper's Penguins, The Criterion Theatre". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Show Review: Mr. Popper's Penguins at The New Victory Theater". www.themamamaven.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Mr. Popper's Penguins". Seattle Children's Theatre. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Mr Popper's Penguins Live Tour". www.mrpopperspenguinslive.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Superhero". Book Music and Lyrics Workshop. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Sondheim Society 2015". Sondheim Society. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
- "Offies 2018: Full list of Off West End Award winners". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
- "Oi Frog & Friends!". Nimax Theatres. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Oi Frog & Friends! Comes to Frensham". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Oi Frog & Friends Tickets". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- Masso, Giverny (2020-03-03). "Olivier Awards 2020: the nominations in full". The Stage. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Shortlisted songs for the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Award 2014". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
- "XMAS FACTOR 2014". Iris Theatre. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- "Xmas Factor Writer Focus: Darren Clark". Iris Theatre. 2017-10-13. Retrieved 2020-04-03.