Philip was born in the East End of London, a location where he still resides and pursues his professional endeavors. He received his education in painting at St Martin's School of Art, and his artistic talents have been showcased throughout Europe. As a novelist, his notable works include Crocodilia (1988),In The Eyes Of Mr. Fury (Penguin, 1989),Flamingoes In Orbit (Hamish Hamilton, 1990),and three novels for children: Mercedes Ice (Collins, 1989),Dakota Of The White Flats (Collins, 1989),and Krindlekrax (Jonathan Cape, 1991),which garnered the Smarties Prize for Children's Fiction and the W.H. Smith Mind-Boggling Book Award, a new accolade judged by children.
His contributions to BBC Radio include the plays October Scars The Skin, The Aquarium Of Coincidences, and Shambolic Rainbow. His initial stage play, the award-winning 'The Pitchfork Disney', premiered at the Bush Theatre, London in 1991, under the direction of Matthew Lloyd. The Pitchfork Disney received its New York premiere in April 1999. Other notable stage plays include 'Ghost From A Perfect Place' (Hampstead Theatre, 1994) and 'Vincent River' (Hampstead Theatre, 2000).
In May 1992, his second stage play, 'The Fastest Clock In The Universe', opened at Hampstead Theatre, receiving both critical acclaim and commercial success, and subsequently won the 1992 Evening Standard Most Promising Newcomer Award, one of the 1992 Time Out Theatre Awards, the prestigious Meyer Whitworth Award for New Theatre Writing, 1992, and the 1992 Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. It received its US premiere in New York in 1998.
Philip's short films, Visiting Mr. Beak (1987) and The Universe Of Dermot Finn (1988),were soon followed by his acclaimed screenplay for The Krays (1990),as well as his feature film debut as both writer and director, the highly controversial The Reflecting Skin (1990),which won eleven international awards, was voted one of the Best Ten Films of 1991 by the L.A. Times, and prompted Rolling Stone to describe him as "a visionary". In 1991, he was awarded the Most Promising Newcomer to British Film at the Evening Standard Film Awards. His third feature, The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995) - written and directed by Philip - was released in 1996.
