Jez Butterworth, Playwright, Screenwriter and Film Director
Butterworth has had major success with his play Mojo which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre London in 1995. I won the Laurence Olivier, George Devine and Critic’s Circle Award. Butterworth wrote and directed the film adaptation of Mojo, released in 1997. He directed and co-wrote with his brother Tom the film Birthday Girl (2001) which was produced by his brother Steve and starred Nicole Kidman. Butterworth also achieved positive reviews with his plays The Night Heron (2002) and The Winterling (2006). His play Parlour Song opened to rave reviews at the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York in March 2008.
Butterworth's fourth play for the Royal Court was the comedy Jerusalem (2009). The production starred Mark Rylance as Johnny Byron and featured Mackenzie Crook as Ginger in a supporting role. It was a sell-out at the Royal Court and with the same cast transferred to the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in January 2010. On 26 October 2012, Butterworth's play The River opened at the Royal Court starring Dominic West, Laura Donnelly and Miranda Raison.
After the wild successes of his State-of-England play Jerusalem and Northern Irish drama The Ferryman, Jez Butterworth again turns to matters of national identity in the wild and highly entertaining new epic series Britannia, this time looking at the cataclysmic impact of the Roman invasion. All episodes will be available on demand in the UK starting on 18 January 2018.