Jim Cartwright was born in 1958 and grew up in Farnworth, Lancashire. He trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

However it is as a playwright that he has really made his mark. Cartwright's very first play, Road, won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC.

He is probably best known for the film Little Voice , whose cast included Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor, Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent. The script was based on his play, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, which he wrote for Jane Horrocks - first performed at the Royal National Theatre in 1992.

Plays

• Road (1986) - Winner of: George Devine Award; Plays and Players Award; Samuel Beckett Award
• Bed (1989)
• Two (1989), originally named To - Winner of: Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best New Play
• Baths (1990)
• Eight Miles High (1991)
• The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice (1992) - Winner of: Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year; Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy
• Stone Free (1994)
• I Licked A Slag's Deodorant (1996) - Winner of: Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Fringe Production
• Kiss The Sky (1996)
• Prize Night (1999)
• Hard Fruit (2000)

Films and TV

• Road (1987)
• Bed (1995)
• Little Voice (1998)
• Vroom (1988)
• Strumpet (2001)
• Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise (2001)