About Matthew

After training as an actor, Matthew joined the Soho Theatre’s Young Writers’ group. His play Singing! Dancing! Acting! was subsequently performed at the Soho Theatre, followed by productions in Paris and Athens.

The award-winning musical, Have A Nice Life, for which Matthew wrote the book, premiered at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and marked his first collaboration with composer Conor Mitchell. It has since been produced in Philadelphia, had a sold out run at the Edinburgh Festival and played in 2010’s New York Fringe festival. It is published by Weinberger’s. His second collaboration with Conor, Pesach, was commissioned by YMT:UK and opened in Belfast.

Mortal Ladies Possessed, a one-woman show based on the short stories of Tennessee Williams, has been seen across the UK as well as in Milan and New York as part of 59E59 Theater’s ‘Brits Off-Broadway’ season. Believe, originally written for Linda Marlowe, was produced at the Traverse, Edinburgh, and was featured on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour. It has since been performed at London’s New End theatre and at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Australia. It has also been produced in Sweden in translation. 

Other work includes Bear Mountain and Back (BBC 1) and a commission from Shakespeare’s Globe for their International Artists Fellowship. An adaptation of Emmanuel Darley's Moliere-nominated play, Tuesdays at Tesco's (Le Mardi à Monoprix), starring Simon Callow, was produced at this year's Edinburgh Festival where it won a Fringe First award. The text is published by Nick Hern Books. 

Sailing Somewhere previews at the Hilton Festival, South Africa, before starting a 4-week run at Johannesburg's Theatre on the Square in October. 

Matthew’s radio play, Phumzile, was recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4. He has been awarded three bursaries by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation and has recently completed an attachment at the National Theatre Studio.