Justin Martin (director)

Last updated

Justin Martin
OccupationDirector
Years active2000–present
Known for The Jungle
Prima Facie
Stranger Things: First Shadow
Awards Full list

Justin Martin is an Australian director of theatre, film, and television who has worked mainly in England. He is known for his solo direction of the National Theatre production of Suzie Miller's play Prima Facie in 2021, as well as for his collaborations with director Stephen Daldry. One such collaboration is Stranger Things: The First Shadow , still running in the West End as of June 2025 after beginning its run in December 2023. His plays have also had Broadway runs. has received a BAFTA TV Award as well as nominations for two Laurence Olivier Awards and a Drama Desk Award.

Contents

Early life and education

Justin Martin grew up in Australia. [1]

He moved to London to be with a partner, and found that he enjoyed working there. [1]

Career

Theatre

Martin has had a long collaboration with theatre director Stephen Daldry. He was working as "resident director" on the Australian production of Billy Elliot when he met Daldry. He started working with him, first as assistant and then associate director, to co-director. [1]

In 2013, he worked as assistant director with John Tiffany on the National Theatre of Scotland production of Jack Thorne's stage adaptation of the Swedish novel Let the Right One In at the Royal Court and then Apollo Theatre in London. [2] [3] [4]

Martin worked as an associate director for Daldry's award-winning stage productions of the David Hare play Skylight , starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan (2014); The Audience , starring Helen Mirren (2013); and The Inheritance (2018–9), all of which played on the West End and Broadway. [5] [6] [7]

He worked as co-director with Daldry The Jungle (2017–2019), Kyoto (2024–5), and Stranger Things. As co-directors, the pair "divide up the show and then come back together to look at what the other has done". [1] Martin co-directed The Jungle at The Young Vic (2017), in the West End, London (2018), and at St. Ann's Warehouse in New York (2018). [8] [9] The work was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play. [10]

In 2021 he directed (solo) the West End production of Suzie Miller's play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer, for which he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director. [11] [1] The production transferred to Broadway at the Golden Theatre, with Comer reprising her role. [12]

In December 2023 [13] [14] Martin began co-directing (with Daldry) the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow , a prequel to the Netflix streaming series at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End. Together they received a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best Director. [15] As of June 2025 the play is still running at the Phoenix. [1]

In 2024 Martin directed (solo) a play written by Lindsey Ferrentino and starring American actor Adrien Brody, based on the 2015 documentary film The Fear of 13 . It opened in October 2024 at the Donmar Warehouse in London. The story is based on the true story of Nick Yarris, who was wrongly convicted of murder in the US in 1982, and spent 22 years on death row before being exonerated. [16]

In July 2025, Martin directs Rosamund Pike in the West End debut of another National Theatre production of a Suzie Miller play, called Inter Alia . [1] The play opens on 10 July at the Lyttelton Theatre. [17] He said in mid-2025 that the pair had another collaboration planned, finishing a trilogy of legal dramas. [1]

In 2026, he will once again direct Jodie Comer in a UK and Ireland tour of Prima Facie. [1]

Screen

Martin's screen credits include work on the first two seasons of the award-winning Netflix period drama series The Crown [18] as well as overseeing successful and record-breaking NT Live performances of Skylight (2014), [19] The Audience (2015), [20] and Prima Facie (2022), which hit number one at the UK cinema box office twice. [1]

In 2021 Justin co-directed the BAFTA award-winning film Together with Stephen Daldry starring James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan, which won the British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama. [21] [22] [23] [24]

Activism

As of June 2025 Martin is an associate artist with Good Chance Theatre - a company dedicated to making work with and about refugees. [25] He has directed a number of works for them, including working on a number of promos for "The Walk" - a theatre festival spanning 8000 km from The Syrian border to Manchester. [26]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryProjectResultRef.
2019 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play The Jungle Nominated [27]
2022 BAFTA TV Award Best Single Drama Together Won [23] [28]
2023 Laurence Olivier Award Best Director Prima Facie Nominated [29]
2024 Stranger Things: The First Shadow Nominated [30]

Credits

Theatre

YearTitlePlaywrightCreditVenueRefs.
2011 Billy Elliot Lee Hall Resident directorNational tour [31] [1]
2013 Let the Right One In Jack Thorne Assistant director Royal Court and Apollo Theatres, London [2] [3]
2013 The Audience Peter Morgan Associate director Gielgud Theatre, West End [32]
2015 Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway [33]
2014 Skylight David Hare Associate directorWyndhams Theatre, West End [34]
2015 John Golden Theater, Broadway [35]
2017 The Jungle Joe Robertson
and Joe Murphy
Director The Young Vic, London [36]
2019 St. Ann's Warehouse, New York [37]
2018 The Inheritance Parts 1 & 2 Matthew López Associate directorThe Young Vic, London [38]
2020 Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway [39]
2022 Prima Facie Suzie Miller Director Harold Pinter Theatre, West End [40]
2023John Golden Theater, Broadway [41]
2023 Stranger Things: The First Shadow Kate TrefryDirector Phoenix Theatre, West End [42] [43]
2024 Kyoto Joe Robertson
and Joe Murphy
Director Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon [44]
2025 @sohoplace, West End [45] [1]
2024 The Fear of 13 Lindsey Ferrentino Director Donmar Warehouse, London [16]
2025 Stranger Things: The First Shadow Kate TrefryDirector Marquis Theatre, Broadway [42] [46]

Television

YearTitleCreditNotesRef.
2013 The Audience Associate director National Theatre Live
2014 Skylight Associate directorNational Theatre Live
2016–2017 The Crown Second unit director Netflix series; 12 episodes
2021 Together Co-director BBC Television film [23]
2022 Prima Facie DirectorNational Theatre Live
2023 The Lovers Director Sky Atlantic series; 6 episodes

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Martin, Justin (17 June 2025). "Theatrical hitmaker Justin Martin on Prima Facie's follow-up: 'It wrestles with how to bring up boys'". The Guardian (Interview). Interviewed by Lawson, Mark. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 "5. Interview with the Assistant Director, Justin Martin". Let the Right One In, By Jack Thorne: Background Pack (PDF). Royal Court Theatre . Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 Gardner, Lyn (8 April 2014). "Let the Right One In five-star review – 'Exquisitely beautiful staging'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  4. "Let the right One in Review". Best of Theatre. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. "Skylight (Broadway, 2015)". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  6. "The Audience (Broadway, 2015)". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  7. "The Inheritance (Broadway, 2019)". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  8. "The Jungle West End". The Young Vic. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  9. "Read Reviews for The Jungle at St. Ann's Warehouse". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  10. "Tootsie, Hadestown, and The Ferryman Lead 2019 Drama Desk Award Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  11. "Olivier Awards 2023: Jodie Comer and Paul Mescal nominated for theatre prizes". BBC. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  12. "Killing Eve Star Jodie Comer to Bring Prima Facie to Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  13. "Ambassador Theatre Group announces 'Stranger Things' performance dates". ATG Tickets. ATG. 21 March 2023. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  14. "'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' Cast Tease West End Play: 'It's Like Being in a F—ing Action Film'". Variety. 17 November 2023. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  15. "Olivier awards 2024: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  16. 1 2 Fisher, Mark (25 June 2024). "Adrien Brody to make London stage debut as man who spent 22 years on death row". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  17. "Inter Alia". National Theatre. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  18. "Justin Martin". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  19. "NT Live: Skylight". National Theatre. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  20. "The Audience". TV Guide. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  21. "Together". Bleeker Street. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  22. "BAFTA 2022 TV winners". BAFTA.org. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  23. 1 2 3 Reed, Christopher Llewellyn (26 August 2021). "Film Review: Though at First a Repellant Jumble, "Together" Eventually Connects". Film Festival Today. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  24. Misko, Jenn (28 August 2021). "Together finally brings us a lockdown relationship dramedy worth our time". The SunBreak. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  25. "Our Team - Good Chance". Goodchange.org. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  26. "Biography - Justin Martin". Justin Martin. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  27. "Nominations for the 2019 Drama Desk Awards Announced; Oklahoma!, Tootsie, Rags Parkland Lead the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  28. "Bafta TV awards 2022: full list of nominations". The Guardian . 30 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  29. "Olivier awards 2023: full list of winners". The Guardian. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  30. "Olivier awards 2024: complete list of nominations". The Guardian . 12 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  31. "Justin Martin - Artist". Abouttheartist. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  32. "London Theatre News, Reviews, Interviews". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  33. "Dame Helen Will Bring Queen Liz II To Broadway In Peter Morgan's 'The Audience'". Deadline Hollywood . 6 August 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  34. "Skylight". Official Theater. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  35. "Broadway Review: 'Skylight' with Carey Mulligan, Bill Nighy". Variety. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  36. "The Jungle Review". Time Out . 6 July 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  37. "The Jungle". St. Ann's Warehouse . Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  38. "The Inheritance". The Young Vic. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  39. "Why 'The Inheritance' Imploded On Broadway". Forbes Magazine . Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  40. "Jodie Comer Stars in London Prima Facie Beginning April 15". Playbill. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  41. "Prima Facie review: Jodie Comer makes a remarkable Broadway debut in Suzie Miller's one-woman show". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  42. 1 2 "Stranger Things prequel play combines darkness and fun, creators say". BBC News. 21 March 2023. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  43. "Stranger Things: The First Shadow". London Theatre. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  44. Lawson, Mark (25 June 2024). "Kyoto review – 1997 protocol on climate crisis fuels gripping theatre at the RSC". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  45. "Kyoto reviews at @Sohoplace Theatre in London | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  46. Paulson, Michael (6 August 2024). "A 'Stranger Things' Prequel Is Coming to Broadway Next Spring". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 31 January 2025.