Chichester Festival Theatre’s new artistic director – all you need to know

Currently artistic director of London’s Unicorn Theatre, and a freelance writer and director who has directed productions for the RSC and the National Theatre, Justin will take up his new post, working alongside executive director Kathy Bourne, in July 2023.

Justin is Artistic Director of the Unicorn Theatre where he has directed Pinocchio, Marvin’s Binoculars, The Canterville Ghost, Anansi The Spider, Aesop’s Fables, Beowulf and My Mother Medea. He will be directing The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Stiles and Drewe in March 2023.

His writing credits include Marvin’s Binoculars and Anansi The Spider. Other recent theatre directing credits include: The Taming of the Shrew, Snow in Midsummer by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig (also at Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and The Jew of Malta (Royal Shakespeare Company); Macbeth and The Winter’s Tale (National Theatre); The Box of Delights by John Masefield, adapted by Piers Torday (Wilton’s Music Hall); The Cardinal by James Shirley (Southwark Playhouse); The Jumper Factory by Luke Barnes (Young Vic Prison Project); How (Not) to Live in Suburbia by Annie Siddons and Wingman by Richard Marsh (Soho Theatre); The Man with The Hammer by Phil Porter (Plymouth Theatre Royal); Unscorched by Luke Owen (Finborough Theatre); and Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph (Gate Theatre).

Film and digital theatre: Justin wrote and directed Marvin’s Binoculars, three episodes of Anansi The Spider Re-spun and directed Philip Pullman’s Hansel and Gretel for Unicorn Online, and directed the short film Joseph Knight for the National Theatre of Scotland and BBC Scotland. His production of The Taming of The Shrew was broadcast live into cinemas around the world and his productions of Macbeth and The Winter’s Tale, both adapted by him for young audiences, are part of the National Theatre Collection.

He wrote and presented the two BBC Live Lessons on Shakespeare for the RSC and has taught at drama schools and universities in the UK and around the world.

In 2012 he was the recipient of the Leverhulme Award for Emerging Directors from the National Theatre Studio and was one of The Guardian’s 12 Theatre Stars for 2020. He is a trustee of Headlong, Invisible Flock, and the Peggy Ramsay Foundation, and is on the Advisory Council for the Children’s Touring Partnership and the Cultural Learning Alliance.