Joe Penhall is a British playwright and screenwriter from London. He is best known for his Award-winning stage play, Blue/Orange, which received Evening Standard, Laurence Olivier, and Critics Circle Awards for Best New Play (National Theatre/Duchess Theatre) and his Award-winning first stage musical, Sunny Afternoon, winning four Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Musical (Hampstead Theatre). 

Penhall's first major play, Some Voices, premiered in London (Royal Court Theatre). It was very well received, winning the John Whiting Award, and Penhall later adapted it for a film of the same name. Other written works for the stage include Birthday, Haunted Child, Dumb Show, and Pale Horse (Royale Court Theatre); Landscape with Weapon (National Theatre); The Bullet (Donmar Warehouse); and Love and Understanding (Bush Theatre). 

Penhall also wrote the scripts for the films The Road, The Undertaker, and Enduring Love.