Joe Penhall Biography

Joe Penhall (born 1967) is a British playwright and screenwriter from London, best known for his award-winning stage play "Blue/Orange" and the award winning West End musical "Sunny Afternoon."

Early life

Born in London, Penhall was raised in Australia.

Career

Penhall's first major play Some Voices premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1994. It was very well-received, winning the John Whiting Award, and has since been played off-Broadway twice. In 2000 Penhall adapted the play for a film with the same name directed by Simon Cellan Jones, starring Daniel Craig and Kelly Macdonald, which premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight.

Penhall adapted Ian McEwan's novel Enduring Love in 2004 to film starring Rhys Ifans and Daniel Craig. That same year he also wrote the screenplay for BBC2's BAFTA nominated dramatisation of Jake Arnott's novel The Long Firm starring Mark Strong.

In 2000 his play Blue/Orange began its run at the National Theatre, directed by Roger Michell and starring Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The play centres on two NHS doctors trying to deal with a sectioned young black schizophrenic patient; it was a huge success, winning Best New Play at the Evening Standard Awards, Laurence Olivier Awards, and at the Critics Circle. It transferred to the West End at the Duchess Theatre the following year. Penhall adapted this play in 2005 for TV with a new cast.

That same year Penhall wrote and directed The Undertaker, his first short film, starring Rhys Ifans and premiering at the London Film Festival.

His follow up play Dumb Show was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 2004, focusing on tabloid journalism. It was directed by Terry Johnson. Penhall has called this a 'small light play' as opposed to the 'huge dark play' Blue/Orange.

Landscape With Weapon, about the invention of a weapon of mass destruction, was first performed at the National Theatre in 2007, directed again by Roger Michell and starring Tom Hollander and Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Penhall spent six years working on The Last King of Scotland, even flying to Uganda and meeting Idi Amin's henchmen; however, he requested his name be removed from the film after other writers were brought on board. Penhall adapted Cormac McCarthy's book The Road in 2009 for a film starring Viggo Mortensen; for this he received wide praise and was named by Variety Magazine as one of their Top Ten Screenwriters to watch.

In 2009 Penhall's detective drama Moses Jones, where he also served as executive producer, was shown on the BBC, winning a BAFTA for make up design and Best Screenplay at the Roma Film Festival in 2009.

In 2011 Penhall returned to the theatre with two plays: Haunted Child, staged at the Royal Court Theatre with Sophie Okonedo, and Birthday, starring Stephen Mangan and directed by long-term collaborator Roger Michell. His first stage musical, Sunny Afternoon, with music and lyrics by Ray Davies premiered at the Hampstead Theatre in May 2014, before transferring to London's West End. The musical won four Laurence Olivier Awards in 2015 including Best Musical.

Personal life

Penhall is married and lives in London; the couple have two sons together.

Plays

• Sunny Afternoon (2014) premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Edward Hall
• Birthday (2012) premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Roger Michell
• Haunted Child (2011) premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Jeremy Herrin
• Landscape With Weapon (2007) premiered at the National Theatre, directed Roger Michell
• Dumb Show (2004) premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed Terry Johnson
• Blue/Orange (2000) premiered at the National Theatre, directed by Roger Michell
• The Bullet (1998) premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, directed by Dominic Cooke
• Love and Understanding (1997) premiered at the Bush Theatre, directed by Mike Bradwell
• Pale Horse (1995) premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson
• Some Voices' (1994) premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson

Filmography

Film

• The Road (2009)
• The Undertaker (2005) short film
• Enduring Love (2004)
• Some Voices (2000)

TV

• Moses Jones (2009) three part BBC drama
• Blue/Orange (2005) TV adaptation of his own play
• The Long Firm (2004) TV series of the novel
• Go Back Out (1995) TV film

Awards

• 1994 John Whiting Award for Some Voices
• 1995 Pearson Thames Television Award for "Pale Horse"
• 2000 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Play for Blue/Orange
• 2000 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best New Play for Blue/Orange
• 2000 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards Best New Play for Blue/Orange
• 2005 BAFTA nominee Best Drama Serial for The Long Firm
• 2009 Roma Film Festival Best Screenplay for "Moses Jones"
• 2015 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical for "Sunny Afternoon"