Joe Penhall
Encyclopedia
Joe Penhall is a British playwright and screenwriter.
Born in London
, his first major play was Some Voices
for the Royal Court Theatre
, London, in 1994, which won the John Whiting Award
. It has twice been revived off Broadway
. Penhall won the Laurence Olivier Award, the Evening Standard Award and the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Blue/Orange
, a play about the dynamics between a young black schizophrenic man and two psychiatrists in a London mental hospital. It premiered at the National Theatre in 2000, directed by Roger Michell
, with Bill Nighy
, Andrew Lincoln
and Chiwetel Ejiofor
in the cast. Blue/Orange transferred to the Duchess Theatre
, London in the following year.
Also in 2000, Penhall adapted Some Voices
for film. Directed by Simon Cellan-Jones
, it starred Daniel Craig
and Kelly Macdonald
, and premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight
.
Penhall adapted Ian McEwan
's novel Enduring Love
for a 2004 film starring Rhys Ifans
and Daniel Craig
, and wrote the screenplay for BBC2's BAFTA nominated four-part dramatisation of Jake Arnott
's East-End gangster novel The Long Firm.
His next play Dumb Show
, a comic attack on the excesses of tabloid journalists, was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre
, directed by Terry Johnson
in 2004. Penhall has said that after writing Blue/Orange -- a 'huge dark play' -- he wanted to write a 'small light play'.
Landscape With Weapon, about a brilliant young engineer who invents an innovative and devastating weapon of mass destruction, was first performed at the National Theatre
in 2007, directed by Roger Michell
. The cast included Tom Hollander
and Julian Rhind-Tutt
.
Penhall adapted The Road by C. McCarthy for the screen in 2009. The film was directed by John Hillcoat and starred Viggo Mortensen. He also wrote the BBC Two detective series "Moses Jones
."
He has directed at the Royal Court Theatre
, and his first short film The Undertaker premiered at the London Film Festival, starring Rhys Ifans
.
Born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, his first major play was Some Voices
Some Voices
Some Voices is an EP by indie rock band Pinback.-Track listing:# "Some Voices" – 3:16# "Trainer" – 2:43# "Manchuria" – 2:41# "June" – 7:17...
for the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, London, in 1994, which won the John Whiting Award
John Whiting Award
The John Whiting Award is awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, shows a new and distinctive development in dramatic writing with particular relevance to contemporary society...
. It has twice been revived off Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Penhall won the Laurence Olivier Award, the Evening Standard Award and the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards for Blue/Orange
BLUE/ORANGE
Blue/Orange is a play by written by English dramatist, Joe Penhall. A sardonically comic piece which touches on race, mental illness, and 21st century British life, it premiered at the Cottesloe Theatre in April 2000, starring Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor...
, a play about the dynamics between a young black schizophrenic man and two psychiatrists in a London mental hospital. It premiered at the National Theatre in 2000, directed by Roger Michell
Roger Michell
Roger Michell is an English theatre, television and film director.-Personal life:He was born in Pretoria, South Africa but spent significant parts of his childhood in Beirut, Damascus and Prague as his father was a diplomat. He was educated at Clifton College where he became a member of Brown's...
, with Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
, Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln is an English actor, known for his roles in the TV series This Life, Teachers and Afterlife, and the films Love Actually and Heartbreaker...
and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, OBE is an English actor of stage and screen. He has received numerous acting awards and award nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his...
in the cast. Blue/Orange transferred to the Duchess Theatre
Duchess Theatre
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street, near Aldwych.The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest 'proscenium arched' West End theatres. It has 479 seats on two levels....
, London in the following year.
Also in 2000, Penhall adapted Some Voices
Some Voices (film)
Some Voices is a British 2000 film directed by Simon Cellan-Jones and adapted for the screen by Joe Penhall, from his own stage play . It is the first feature film by Cellan-Jones, a renowned TV director respected for his work on the BAFTA-winning Our Friends in the North...
for film. Directed by Simon Cellan-Jones
Simon Cellan-Jones
Simon Cellan-Jones is a Welsh television director and film director, who began his career as a production assistant in the mid-1980s, working on series such as Edge of Darkness. By the late 1980s he had worked his way up to become a director, and he gained credits on some of the most acclaimed...
, it starred Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
and Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
, and premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. The section was created in 1969 after the events of May 1968, in which the Cannes festival was canceled in solidarity with striking workers....
.
Penhall adapted Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
's novel Enduring Love
Enduring Love
Enduring Love is a 2004 British film directed by Roger Michell with screenwriter Joe Penhall, based on a novel by Ian McEwan. The story is about two strangers who become dangerously close after witnessing a deadly accident. It stars Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans and Samantha Morton with Bill Nighy,...
for a 2004 film starring Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
and Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
, and wrote the screenplay for BBC2's BAFTA nominated four-part dramatisation of Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott is a British novelist, author of The Long Firm and other novels. Most of his works are crime novels, and include homosexual characters...
's East-End gangster novel The Long Firm.
His next play Dumb Show
Dumb Show
Dumb Show is a play by Joe Penhall.The three-character play, directed by Terry Johnson, premiered at the Royal Court Theatre' London, September 4, 2004. It received its American premiere at South Coast Repertory in September, 2006. It was performed at Keswick's Theatre by the Lake from...
, a comic attack on the excesses of tabloid journalists, was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, directed by Terry Johnson
Terry Johnson (dramatist)
Terry Johnson is a British dramatist and director working for stage, television and film. He is a Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre. At The Court he directed Dumb Show by Joe Penhall and opened his play Piano/Forte...
in 2004. Penhall has said that after writing Blue/Orange -- a 'huge dark play' -- he wanted to write a 'small light play'.
Landscape With Weapon, about a brilliant young engineer who invents an innovative and devastating weapon of mass destruction, was first performed at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in 2007, directed by Roger Michell
Roger Michell
Roger Michell is an English theatre, television and film director.-Personal life:He was born in Pretoria, South Africa but spent significant parts of his childhood in Beirut, Damascus and Prague as his father was a diplomat. He was educated at Clifton College where he became a member of Brown's...
. The cast included Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
and Julian Rhind-Tutt
Julian Rhind-Tutt
Julian Alistair Rhind-Tutt is an English actor. He is best known for his starring role as "Mac" McCartney in the comedy television series Green Wing, the second series of which finished on Channel 4 in May 2006...
.
Penhall adapted The Road by C. McCarthy for the screen in 2009. The film was directed by John Hillcoat and starred Viggo Mortensen. He also wrote the BBC Two detective series "Moses Jones
Moses Jones
Moses Jones is a three-part BBC Television drama series written by Joe Penhall, directed by Michael Offer and produced by Cameron Roach that was first broadcast on BBC Two in February 2009.-Synopsis:...
."
He has directed at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, and his first short film The Undertaker premiered at the London Film Festival, starring Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
.
Plays
- Some Voices (1994)
- Pale Horse (1995)
- Love and Understanding (1997)
- The Bullet (1998)
- Blue/OrangeBLUE/ORANGEBlue/Orange is a play by written by English dramatist, Joe Penhall. A sardonically comic piece which touches on race, mental illness, and 21st century British life, it premiered at the Cottesloe Theatre in April 2000, starring Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor...
(2000) - Dumb Show (2004)
- Landscape With Weapon (2007)
- Haunted Child (2011)
Secondary literature
- William C. Boles: The Argumentative Theatre of Joe Penhall, McFarland: McFarland & Company, 2011, ISBN 978-0-7864-5949-0