Alex Martinez

Alex Martinez was born in Barcelona but has lived in London since he was four. He is a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. His first play, PRIVATE THOUGHTS, had a successful three-week run at the Hackney Empire Studio Theatre in 2009. Since then he has completed two new plays, THE DEVIL’S TAIL, which has already been translated into French for a production in France next year, and THE ROSE OF JERICHO, which premieres at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. Alex has written sitcom pilots for Channel 4 - with Stewart Lee as script editor - and for the BBC on a project produced by Charlie Hanson, the producer of EXTRAS, and script-edited by Richard Herring. In 1999, his first screenplay, based on his experience of raising a child with a disability, was acquired by Anthony Andrews' production company. Alex has worked very closely with his daughter, comedian Francesca Martinez. In 2002 they co-wrote her sell-out stand-up show I’MPERFECT, followed in 2007 by IN DEEP. Both shows premiered in Edinburgh, received 5-star reviews, and toured internationally. IN DEEP also transferred to London’s Off-West End. His first novel KITCHENER BLUE tells the story of a working-class family in Kilburn during the Great War. He also co-wrote DIRTY GREAT MONSTERS (Puffin) and translated the Spanish novel THE LAST PHARAOH into English (Weidenfeld). His daughter is the comedian Francesca Martinez and his son Raoul is an artist and documentary film-maker, and soon-to-be-published writer. Alex and his wife Christina, an environmental campaigner and writer, have been together since they met at King's College, London University, in the late 70's.