HOME

Justin Butcher photo

Justin Butcher is a writer, director, producer, actor and musician. His best known works include the award-winning solo play Scaramouche Jones, starring Pete Postlethwaite and directed by Rupert Goold, the hit anti-war satire The Madness Of George Dubya and its sequels, A Weapons Inspector Calls and Guantanamo Baywatch and the controversially-acclaimed Go To Gaza, Drink The Sea, as well as five plays for BBC Radio 4. He holds BA and MA Honours degrees in Classics Greats from Oxford University and is an Honours Graduate of Drama Studio London. He lives in London and has worked all over Europe, in Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, Canada, the USA and Mexico. His work is produced and studied all over the English-speaking world, and has been translated into Albanian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Spanish and Turkish. He reads and translates Ancient Greek and Latin. He is artistic director of Passion Pit Theatre, which has produced 13 acclaimed professional theatre productions in the UK, USA, Mexico, Malta and Australia since 1994. He is also founder and director of the acclaimed London choir Vox Holloway and works extensively as a conductor, MD, organist, pianist and singer. Alongside his work in the arts, he works regularly as creative consultant, speaker, trainer, comedy writer and event producer in the corporate, government and charitable sectors.

Contact: Justin Butcher

Literary agent: Charles Walker , United Agents   +44 (0)20 3214 0874

Acting agent: Jo Hole Associates +44 (0)20 8758 8420 or +44 (0)7889 534 833

Plaudits

As writer, Scaramouche Jones:

“Extraordinary solo piece by Justin Butcher … hilarious, picaresque and terrifying.” (John Peter, The Sunday Times)

“Justin Butcher’s fascinating, poignant, funny play” (Jeremy Kingston, The Times)

“Justin Butcher’s gloriously elegiac prose … reverberates in the memory” (Sophie Gorman, Irish Independent)

“Unique … stunning … a new kind of theatre” 
(Karen Joyner, Metro)

“Butcher’s use of language is sensational … every line dances … like dynamite …” (Vicky Frost, Bristol Evening Post)

As performer, Scaramouche Jones:

“Justin Butcher gives … the finest performance on the Fringe this year … a masterpiece of solo Magic Realism, impeccably written, perfectly performed” (Philip Fisher, British Theatre Guide)

“Justin Butcher is superb in his delivery: engaging, animated, and endearing.” (Cameron England, Adelaide Advertiser)

As writer-director, The Madness Of George Dubya:

“Justin Butcher’s Aristophanic vitality … blends manic comedy with passionate polemic.” (Michael Billington, The Guardian)

“Fantastic piss-take … comedy and current affairs crackle along like Carry On meets Kubrick … comedy with smart gags that hit the target.” (Mark Espiner, Time Out)

“A welcome blast of light relief … this oil-black comedy scores … direct hits.” (The Daily Telegraph)                 

“Justin Butcher’s stealth-bomber of a show” (Independent On Sunday)

“This lively, sexy production has a gloriously distinctive bark” (Evening Standard)

As writer-performer, Breaking Strain:

“A modern classic: overwhelmingly intelligent … makes the atmosphere crackle with danger and sexual tension … as intelligent as it is hilarious.” ***** (The Scotsman)

As co-writer & director, Go To Gaza, Drink The Sea:

“A deeply felt, humane and vividly expressive reaction to the current crisis.” (Michael Billington, The Guardian

“Raw power … carries huge moral and emotional impact.” **** (The Scotsman)

As director, Black Comedy:

“An incandescent production by London’s Passion Pit Theatre … a tour de force of physical humour. The tempo is furious, the timing perfect.” (The Gazette, Colorado Springs, USA)