With Gordon Craig, he founded the Purcell Operatic Society in 1899, dedicated to reviving the music of Henry Purcell and other English composers of the period, many of whose works had fallen into long neglect. Their first production in 1901 was Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas", at the Hampstead Conservatoire. This was well received and transferred to the Coronet Theatre, where it played alongside Ellen Terry's production of "Nance Oldfield". It was also Craig's first outing as stage director. The POS's other productions were "The Masque of Love" from Purcell's semi-opera, "Dioclesian" (1901) and Handel's "Acis and Galatea" (1902). In 1903, Martin joined Ellen Terry's company at the Imperial Theatre, where he composed and conducted the music for productions of "The Vikings" and "Much Ado About Nothing", also directed by Craig, Ellen Terry's son.