BIOGRAPHY
Justin Martin - Biography
Justin Martin is a multi-award winning director working in theatre, film and television.
Justin is currently co-directing Stranger Things: The First Shadow with Stephen Daldry at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. Their critically acclaimed production continues its Olivier Award winning run at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End.
Later this year he will be directing Rosamund Pike in Suzie Miller’s new play Inter Alia at the National Theatre in London.
In 2026 Justin’s multi-award winning, West End production of Suzie Miller’s play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer will tour nationally throughout the UK.
In 2023 the production took the West End by storm transferring to Broadway and breaking box-office records at the Golden Theatre. The production has earned 23 awards on both sides of the Atlantic including The Olivier for Best Play and Tony and Olivier Awards for Jodie Comer.
The NT Live/Empire Street film of Prima Facie twice smashed box-office records becoming the highest-grossing event cinema release of all time.
In 2024 Justin directed Adrien Brody and Nana Mensah in his critically acclaimed production of The Fear of 13 at the Donmar Warehouse. The show smashed box office records to become the highest earning play at The Donmar and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Play and Best Actor.
Justin received a second Olivier Best Play nomination in the same year for his much lauded RSC/West End production of Kyoto by Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy. Jorge Bosch was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Justin’s television series The Lovers for Sky, AMC and Sundance, and written by award winning writer David Ireland, premiered to five star reviews and was named in the top shows of 2023 by the Daily Telegraph and the BFI. The series stars Johnny Flynn, Conleth Hill and Roisin Gallagher — who was nominated for a BAFTA for her role of Janet.
In 2023 Justin’s award winning production of The Jungle (Young Vic/National Theatre) returned to New York and toured to Washington DC. It sold out in 25 minutes. The production previously played in San Francisco (2019), following sellout seasons at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York (2018), in the West End (2018) and at The Young Vic (2017). The show garnered awards including an Obie, a Southbank Sky Arts Award and a Broadway World Award for Best Direction.
In 2021 Justin co-directed the BAFTA award winning film Together with Stephen Daldry for Sonia Friedman Productions, BBC Films, and Shoebox Films (starring James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan).
His critically acclaimed production of Low Level Panic sold out twice at the Galway Theatre Festival before touring throughout Ireland and to a sell-out season in Australia.
Other theatre credits include: Kyoto (Swan Theatre, RSC and Good Chance), Last Chance: A Plea For the Unaccompanied Children of Calais (Young Vic) starring Carey Mulligan, Juliet Stevenson, Joely Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave and Samuel West; The Nether (Seymour Centre, Sydney); Far Away (fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne); Fifty Two (Leicester Square Theatre); Good Chance/No Chance (as part of the Southbank Centre's Festival of Love); Harvey and Frieda (Arcola Theatre); Street (Mick Laly Theatre - Galway Theatre Festival), The Kitchen (HM Theatre, Victoria) and Skintight (fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne).
Justin has a long collaboration with director Stephen Daldry. He was the associate director for Daldry’s award-winning production of The Inheritance (Young Vic/West End/Broadway) for which Daldry gave him the Olivier for Best Direction. He was the associate director for both Skylight and The Audience in the West End and on Broadway. He also worked with John Tiffany and Steven Hoggett on the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Let The Right One In (Dundee Rep/Royal Court/West End/St Ann’s, NY/US Tour). He was an associate director on Billy Elliot The Musical working on Broadway, throughout North America, Korea, Amsterdam and Australia.
Other screen credits include: the first two seasons of the award-winning Netflix series The Crown, the Netflix film The Beautiful Game (dir. Thea Sharrock), as well as overseeing hugely successful and record breaking NT Live performances of Prima Facie, Skylight and The Audience.
Justin is an associate artist with Good Chance Theatre - a company dedicated to making work with and about refugees. He has directed a number of works for them, including most recently working on a number of promos for The Walk - a theatre festival spanning 8000km from The Syrian border to Manchester.
He has won numerous awards including being the inaugural recipient of the Roger Leach Award, multiple Broadway World, Olivier and Southbank Sky Arts Awards, a BAFTA and an Obie and has been nominated twice for an Olivier Award for Best Direction and a Drama Desk Award.
Justin continues to develop work with some of the worlds most renowned theatre, film and television companies. He is attached to direct upcoming new plays in London, Sydney and New York and is developing film and television projects in Ireland, The US and the UK.