Editing Billy Liar (section)

==Adaptations==
===Stage play===
In 1960, the novel's author, Keith Waterhouse, co-wrote a [[Three-act structure|three-act stage version]] with [[Willis Hall]]. The action took place on a single set combining the living-room, hallway, and porch of the Fisher household. The first production opened in the [[West End theatre|West End]] of London with [[Albert Finney]] in the title role. It has since been produced all over the world, and has become a favourite with [[amateur dramatics|amateur]] groups.  The play was adapted for the Irish stage as ''Liam Liar'' by [[Hugh Leonard]] in 1976.<ref name="Irish Playography, Hugh Leonard, Liam Liar">{{cite web|title=Irish Playography|url=http://www.irishplayography.com/play.aspx?playid=1269|work=Entry for Hugh Leonard, Liam Liar}}</ref>

The play is set in one Saturday: Act 1 in the morning, Act 2 in the early evening, and Act 3 at night.

===Film===
{{Main article|Billy Liar (film)}}
The 1963 film was directed by [[John Schlesinger]] and featured [[Tom Courtenay]], who played the part when [[Albert Finney]] left the cast in the West End play, as Billy and [[Julie Christie]] as Liz, one of his three girlfriends. [[Mona Washbourne]] played Mrs. Fisher, and [[Wilfred Pickles]] played Mr. Fisher. [[Rodney Bewes]], [[Finlay Currie]], and [[Leonard Rossiter]] also had roles.

===British television series===
{{Mainarticle|Billy Liar (TV series)}}
The novel was also used as the basis for a [[British sitcom|sitcom]] made by [[London Weekend Television]] in 1973–1974, starring [[Jeff Rawle]] as Billy. The series was scripted by the play's writers, Waterhouse and Hall, and the action was updated to the 1970s. [[George A. Cooper]] reprised his West End role as Billy's father. Other regular cast members included [[Pamela Vezey]] as Alice, [[Colin Jeavons]] as Shadrack, [[May Warden]] as Billy's grandmother, and [[Sally Watts]] as Barbara. Several new girlfriends were also introduced.

The series was shown on the Seven Network in Australia during the non-ratings season of 1975–1976, shown on [[CBC Television]] in Canada in 1975–1976, and shown on [[RTÉ 2]] in Ireland in 1982. It has never been [[rerun]], although the first series was released on Region 2 DVD in August 2006. The second series was released in March 2007. The complete series was released on 07/05/2018.

===Stage musical===
{{Main article|Billy (musical)}}
In 1974, a successful [[West End theatre|West End]] musical (entitled simply ''[[Billy (musical)|Billy]]'') starred [[Michael Crawford]] and, in her West End debut, [[Elaine Paige]]. The cast also included [[Gay Soper]], [[Avis Bunnage]], [[Bryan Pringle]] and [[Lockwood West]]. The book was by well-known British sitcom writers [[Dick Clement]] and [[Ian La Frenais]], and the music and lyrics were by [[film scores|film composer]] [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]] and [[Don Black (lyricist)|Don Black]] respectively.

===American television series===
An American adaptation entitled ''[[Billy (1979 TV series)|Billy]]'' and starring [[Steve Guttenberg]], [[Peggy Pope]], and [[James Gallery]] aired briefly on [[CBS]] in 1979.