Lewis Gilbert film versions of Willy Russell's plays "Educating Rita" (1983) and "Shirley Valentine" (1989). Gilbert also directed the film "Stepping Out" (1991). Gilbert was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Birthday Honours for services to the film industry. In 2001, Gilbert was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute, the highest accolade in the British film industry. In June 2010 he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme "Desert Island Discs". In it he said that his 1970 film "The Adventurers" was a disaster, and that he should never have made it. On
Michael Wall (playwright) Michael Wall (playwright) Michael Wall (22 November 1946 – 11 June 1991) was a British playwright. He wrote over forty plays, the most well-known of which are "Amongst Barbarians" and "Women Laughing". Born in Hereford, England, he read English at the University of York, graduating in 1976. He wrote several stage plays, but the majority of his work was done for radio. Several of his works were produced by the BBC. "Amongst Barbarians", for which he won the 1989 Mobil Competition's prize for playwriting, was first produced at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England. It then moved to the