About

Martin is a writer, filmmaker, actor and obsessive-compulsive who mucks around across page, stage and screen.

How to explain.

His current flagship comedy series Pink Elephants (previously known as Disorderly) was developed with Screen Queensland, and among other accolades was an international finalist for the prestigious ScreenCraft Fellowship. His films often tread the uneasy overlap between reality, fiction and humour.

Martin’s writing can be found in The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ABC News, satire in The Chaser and The Shovel, and even in a couple of real paper books including Try Not To Think Of A Pink Elephant from Fremantle Press, and alongside Kristen Dunphy, Grace Tame, Stephen Oliver and others in Admissions from Upswell Publishing.

Onscreen, Martin received acclaim after featuring in the OCD episode of the ABC’s You Can’t Ask That, and plays the lead role (opposite a plush toy) in OCD web series Plushed, developed with Screen Australia.

He also produced, adapted and starred in the hit indie immersive rock Shakespeare Much Ado in 2018, because life’s too short. A mainstage version of the show is in further development now with You Am I frontman Tim Rogers.

“Very smart.”
– Tim Minchin, about Martin, one time, resharing this article in an Instagram story.

Back in 2016 Martin travelled the USA with The Chaser reporting on the totally sane and dull process that was the 2016 presidential election, and that same year he developed live comedy pilot Pillow Talk with Screen Queensland and ABC iview, supported to take to market at MIPTV Cannes.

Throughout all this he was still quite mentally ill, whoops.

He continues to work in not-for-profit and corporate documentary production, including the ongoing Smarter Justice campaign for crime and punishment reform, commissioned through the NT Aboriginal Justice Agreement.

Here’s a nice BTS moment from a doco series for Anti-Discrimination NSW:

Finally, it’s worth mentioning Martin is the co-founder and MC of Ruckus, which over 12 years has grown into one of Australia’s premiere spoken word and independent arts orgs, producing monthly events, including open mics, poetry slam, cabaret, and experimental indie theatre—and even their own festival RuckusFest.