Christopher Wortley – Biog – May 2011
Chris is a full-time songwriter. He writes songs for musical theatre, cabaret and revue and hopes to make people laugh and cry. (He has definitely achieved the former – the latter is harder - but one singer at least claims to have cried in rehearsals over Chris’ lyrics.) There is, Chris feels, something almost magical about the successful marriage of words and music – something quite distinct from music alone, poetry or prose.
He usually writes both music and words but he also enjoys collaborating with lyricists and composers on songs and shows, producing original material to order.
Current major projects:-
- Chris is delighted that the Children’s Laureate (2003-2005), Michael Morpurgo, has given his backing to an adaptation of his book, The War of Jenkins’ Ear, as a musical.
- Act your Age - A full-length musical farce – book written with assistance from TV writer, Brian Clemens. There have been several productions around the country and overseas – many with sell-out performances. The show is published by www.stagescripts.com
- With BAFTA-award winning writer, Roy Apps, Chris has written The Fang Gang, based on Roy’s popular series of books. The title song featured on Radio4’s Go4It. The show premièred in March 2008 and is now published by www.stagescripts.com.
- Chris worked as a songwriter on the Sing-Up programme aimed at primary schools. As part of this work, The Jungle Song is published through Faber Music on the Sing-Up Song Bank www.singup.org.
- Chris recently created the secret video diaries of Todd’s Best Friend, now on Youtube.
More Generally:-
As well as writing for musical theatre, Chris writes and co-writes cabaret/revue songs and a number of these have found their way into shows in London - including at RADA and at the Leicester Square Theatre - and in regional shows including Luton, Romsey and The New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. Siân Phillips included one of his songs in her show at the Hampstead Theatre in 2010 and again at the Malpas Festival in 2011 . Chris was also invited to contribute cabaret material for the London International New Musical Theatre Festival and three of his songs were chosen by theatre group Impetuous Kinship for their 2006 tour. His songbook is published by www.dotdismus.com as part of their ‘Writers of Note’ series.
Chris receives regular commissions for bespoke songs including a series of comic mini-operas for the touring theatre group Fingask Follies (these are now published by www.stagescripts.com as well as comic songs for corporate events such as for Rolls Royce plc where songs replace after-dinner speaking.
In 2002 Chris wrote the book/music/lyrics for OFSTED the Musical attracting praise from The Times and in Sep 2003 his musical showcase revue Thwarted! at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington, played to a full house. On the strength of the show, Kit and the Widow aired two of the songs on their Radio 3 cabaret programme.
In 2005 Chris’s show Love Bytes, was work-shopped at the Royal Academy of Music
songs@christopherwortley.org +44 (0)7973 152210