Ohnsorg-Theater comedies, the majority of them set in the typical environment of Northern German farmers, fisher men or merchants from Hamburg, the theatre also performs more serious works of traditional literature and musical theatre as well as adaptations in "Platt" of international material such as the stage version of Stephen King's "Misery" and original plays such as Tennessee Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", Robert Thomas's "8 Women", Willy Russell's "Shirley Valentine", Lawrence Roman's "Alone Together" or Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The theatre was founded by Dr. Richard Ohnsorg (May 3, 1876 - May 11, 1947) in 1902 as
Willy Russell Valentine" and "Educating Rita" became successful feature films with Michael Caine, Julie Walters and Pauline Collins all winning Oscar nominations for their respective roles, as did Russell for his "Educating Rita" screenplay. Russell's other worldwide theatrical success has been "Blood Brothers", 'a Liverpudlian folk opera' about a pair of twins separated at birth and brought up in completely different environments. "Blood Brothers" won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 1983 and its 1987 revival saw over 10,000 consecutive performances during its 24-year West End run. Simultaneously, UK touring and international productions (including a two-year run on Broadway)