Joe Penhall - Career

Career

Penhall's first major play Some Voices premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1994. It was very well received and won the John Whiting Award and has since been played on Broadway twice. In 2000 he adapted the play for film directed by Simon Cellan Jones which starred Daniel Craig and Kelly Macdonald premiering 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 starring Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The play centering on two NHS doctors trying to deal with a sectioned young black schizophrenic patient, 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 his first short film and directed it too, The Undertaker starred Rhys Ifans and premiered at the London Film Festival.

His follow up play Dumb Show was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 2004 focused on tabloid journalism directed by Terry Johnson. Penhall has called this a 'small light play' to contrast against 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 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 allowed his name to be removed from the film after other writers were brought on board. Penhall however adapted a Cormac McCarthy's book The Road in 2009 for film which starred Viggo Mortensen for which he revieved wide praise and he says is his best produced screen work.

In 2009 also Penhall's detective drama Moses Jones - which he also executive produced - was shown on the BBC, winning a BAFTA for make up design.

In 2011 Penhall returns to the theatre with his play Haunted Child being staged at the Royal Court Theatre with Sophie Okonedo and his next play Birthday starring Stephen Mangan and directed by long term collaborator Roger Michell premiered six months later, a first for the theatre.