Philip Ridley

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Philip Ridley is a multi-talented artist born in London, England. His work is characterised by an intriguing mix of both the menacing and the magical. The term 'barbaric beauty' has often been used to describe his signature style.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Philip Ridley was born in the East End of London, England, where he still lives and works. He studied painting at St. Martin’s School of Art and his work has been exhibited throughout Europe and Japan. He started as both a performance artist and the creator of a long sequence of dark and disturbing charcoal drawings. One drawing, 'The Black Bird', portraying a man ejaculating a black bird, was exhibited at the ICA in London while Ridley was still a student and became a cause celebre, with calls for it to be displayed behind a curtain. Ridley also started his own theatre group as a student and acted in many of the productions. Despite the vast range of his talents - he was once referred to as 'a one man cultural revolution' - Ridley has always described himself as a storyteller.

Ridley has written three books for adults, Crocodilia, In the Eyes of Mr. Fury, and Flamingoes in Orbit; the highly acclaimed screenplay for The Krays feature film; five adult stage plays: The Pitchfork Disney, the multi-award-winning The Fastest Clock in the Universe, Ghost from a Perfect Place, Vincent River and the controversial Mercury Fur; and a further five plays for young people: Karamazoo, Fairytaleheart, Moonfleece, Sparkleshark and Brokenville.

He has also directed two feature films from his own screenplays: The Reflecting Skin – winner of eleven international awards – and The Passion of Darkly Noon (winner of the Best Director Prize at the Porto Film Festival)and one short film, The Universe of Dermot Finn. He has also written many books for children including Scribbleboy (shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal), Kasper in the Glitter (nominated for the Whitbread Prize), Mighty Fizz Chilla (shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award), ZinderZunder, Vinegar Street, and Krindlekrax (winner of both the Smarties Prize and WH Smith’s Mind-Boggling Books Award), the stage play of which – adapted by Ridley himself – was premiered at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the summer of 2002. His most recent children's novel is Zip's Apollo, published in 2005.

He is also a photographer of some repute (he did his own cover image for his collected first three stage plays, 'RIDLEY: PLAYS ONE') and a poet (his work has appeared in several collections). He co-wrote, with Nick Bicat, two songs that appeared in his film The Passion of Darkly Noon, ('Who Will Love Me Now?', sung by P.J. Harvey - later covered by Sunscream - and "Look What You've Done (To My Skin)" sung by Gavin Friday). Ridley has won both the Evening Standard's Most Promising Newcomer to British Film and Most Promising Playwright Awards. He is the only person ever to receive both prizes.

[edit] List of works (incomplete)

  • Embracing Verdi (1986) (short story)
  • Leviathan (1987) (short story)
  • Crocodilia (1988) (novel)
  • In the Eyes of Mr. Fury (1989) (novel)
  • Mercedes Ice (1989) (children's novel)
  • The Krays (1990) (screenplay)
  • The Reflecting Skin (screenplay and director)
  • Flamingoes in Orbit (1990) (short stories)
  • Dakota Of The White Flats (1990) (children's novel)
  • The Pitchfork Disney (1991) (stage play)
  • Krindlekrax (1991) (children's novel)
  • The Fastest Clock In The Universe (1992) (stage play)
  • Ghost From A Perfect Place (1994) (stage play)
  • Meteorite Spoon (1994) (children's novel)
  • The Hooligan's Shampoo (1995) (short story for children)
  • Kasper In The Glitter (1995) (children's novel)
  • The Passion Of Darkly Noon (1996) (screenplay and director)
  • Fairytaleheart (1996) (stage play for young people)
  • Sparkleshark (1997) (stage play for young people)
  • Alien Heart (1996) (short story)
  • Scribbleboy (1997) (children's novel)
  • Brokenville (1998) (stage play for young people)
  • Wonderful Insect (1998) (short story)
  • Vinegar Street (2000) (children's novel)
  • Vincent River (2000) (stage play)
  • Krindlekrax (2002) (stage play)
  • Mighty Fizz Chilla (2002) (children's novel)
  • Brokenville (2003) (play for young people)
  • Daffodil Scissors (2004) (short children's play)
  • Moonfleece (2004) (play for young people)
  • Karamazoo (2004) (play for young people)
  • Mercury Fur (2005) (stage play)
  • Zip's Apollo (2005) (children's novel)

[edit] Awards won (incomplete)

  • Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival for The Reflecting Skin
  • Fipresci Prize at the Locarno Flim Festival for The Reflecting Skin
  • CICAE at the Locarno Film Festival for The Reflecting Skin
  • Prix de la Jeunesse at the Locarno Film Festival for The Reflecting Skin
  • Barclay Prize at The Locarno Film Festival for The Reflecting Skin.
  • Grand Prize at the Stockholm Film Festival for The Reflecting Skin
  • Best British Film at the Birmingham Film Festival for The Reflecting Skin
  • Best Original Screenplay Award from the Guild of Screenwriters for The Reflecting Skin
  • George Sadoul Prize for Best First Film for The Reflecting Skin
  • Evening Standard Best British Film Award for The Krays
  • The Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer to Film for The Krays.
  • The Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer to Stage for The Fastest Clock In The Universe.
  • The Meyer Whitworth Prize for The Fastest Clock In The Universe.
  • The Critics Cirlcle Most Promising New Playwright Award for The Fastest Clock In The Universe.
  • Time Out Award for The Fastest Clock In The Universe.
  • The Smarties Prize for Krindlekrax
  • The W.H. Smith Mind Boggling Books for Krindlekrax
  • Best Director at the Porto Festival for The Passion of Darkly Noon
  • Commendation from the NASEN Special Educational Needs Children's Book Award for Scribbleboy

[edit] Award nominations (incomplete)

[edit] Awards won - Associated (incomplete)

[edit] Awards associated - nominations (incomplete)

[edit] Selected quotes of Ridley

"I'm trying to create rituals to make sense of a world that scares the hell out of me."

[edit] Selected quotes from Ridley's works

"It's a ghosttrain, Mr Chocolate." (from The Pitchfork Disney)

[edit] Selected press quotes

[edit] References

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