David Aukin (born 12 February 1942) is an English theatrical and executive producer as well as a qualified solicitor. He has been nominated for multiple

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

and has won twice for producing films about

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

: ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...

'' in 2005 and ''Britz'' in 2009. While Head of Film at

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

he received the Michael Balcon Award from

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for the quality of its output. The films he commissioned at Channel 4 gathered numerous Oscar nominations and they won for the '' Madness of King George'', '' Secrets & Lies'' and '' Trainspotting''. ''Secrets & Lies'' also won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Early life

David Aukin was born in Harrow, London, on 12 February 1942, to Jewish parents Charles, born in Belarus, and Regina (née Unger), born in Germany of Polish parentage. Aukin attended St Paul's School and studied Law at

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...

, intending to follow in his father's footsteps.

Theatrical career

David Aukin served as the literary adviser at the

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as The Traverse Theatre Club in 1962 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes, Richard Demarco, Terry Lane, Andrew Muir, John Martin and Sheila Colvin. The Traverse Th ...

(1970–73). From 1970 to 1974, he served as Chairman of the Oval House Arts Centre. Along with David Hare and Max Stafford-Clark, Aukin co-founded the Joint Stock Theatre Company in 1974. During this period he presented The Open Theatre and two seasons of Le Grand Magic Circus all at the Roundhouse Theatre and presented numerous fringe companies in the UK and abroad, including The Freehold, The People Show, Pip Simmons Theatre Group and the premiere of Pam Gems' first stage play at the Cockpit Theatre. From 1974 through 1975, Aukin was an administrator with Anvil Productions in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In 1975, Aukin became an administrator at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

. Three years later he was appointed to the position of

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

there, a position he held until 1984. The numerous premiers he produced there include ''Translations'' by Brien Friel, ''Abigail's Party'', ''Goose-Pimples'', and ''Ecstasy'', all by Mike Leigh, ''The Hothouse'' written and directed by Harold Pinter and ''Dusa Fish Stas and Vi'' by Pam Gems. He was then appointed artistic director of the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester where he premiered ''

Me and My Girl ''Me and My Girl'' is a musical with music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefined Cockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, wh ...

'' which went on to win many awards on the West End and Broadway. In 1986 he was appointed executive director of the National Theatre which he ran with Richard Eyre until 1990 when he was headhunted to be Head of Film at Channel 4. He subsequently has produced intermittently in the West End, including '' Dance of Death'' with

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

, and '' Onassis'' by Martin Sherman with Robert Lindsay. In 2002, Aukin produced the Broadway revival of ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

''.

Film work

From 1990 to 1998 he was Head of Film at Channel 4, during which time he commissioned over 100 feature films including '' Trainspotting'', '' The Madness of King George'', '' Secrets & Lies'', ''

Shallow Grave Shallow Grave may refer to: * ''Shallow Grave'' (1987 film), an American slasher film * ''Shallow Grave'' (1994 film), a British thriller film directed by Danny Boyle * ''Shallow Grave'' (album), a 2008 album by The Tallest Man on Earth {{disa ...

'', ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

'', '' Brassed Off'', and films by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

, Tony Harrison and many others. In 2005, Aukin was the executive producer of ''

'', a television drama about the death of David Kelly. The film was described by Rupert Smith in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

as "...television drama in excelsis, hitting all the right buttons – action, comedy, pathos, satire – as well as having shedloads of righteous political anger...", though Mark Lawson criticised its portrayal of

strumming a guitar while "sending men to their deaths on the telephone". Aukin responded by insisting that the scene had been misinterpreted. The film went on to win the 2005

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

for Best Single Drama. At the 2007 BAFTA awards, two of Aukin's works were nominated: '' The Trial of Tony Blair'' for Best Single Drama and '' Britz'' which won Best Drama Serial. He executive produced '' Endgame'' which won a 2009 Peabody Award. He also produced or executive produced '' The Promise'', '' The Hamburg Cell'', '' A Very Social Secretary'', '' Mrs Henderson Presents'', '' Hyde Park on Hudson'', and ''

True History of the Kelly Gang ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' is a novel by Australian writer Peter Carey, based loosely on the history of the Kelly Gang. It was first published in Brisbane by the University of Queensland Press in 2000. It won the 2001 Booker Prize a ...

''.

Personal life

Aukin married Nancy Meckler in 1969. They have two children, Daniel Aukin and Jethro Aukin, whom they raised in North London.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aukin, David 1942 births Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford English film producers English Jews English people of Belarusian-Jewish descent English people of Polish-Jewish descent English theatre managers and producers Film producers from London Living people People educated at St Paul's School, London People from Harrow, London Theatre people from London