playwrights
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
who staged plays and happenings in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
between March 2006 and March 2007. The events generated a cult following on the London theatre scene. The collective had a festival of their work at the Union Theatre produced by David Luff and were involved in the 2006
Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 ...
, but their work mainly centred on monthly nights at Theatre503, formerly the Latchmere Theatre.
Writers
* Mike Bartlett went on to become the Pearson Playwright in Residence at the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...
. His play, ''My Child'', had its world premiere at the Theatre Downstairs in an innovative production directed by Sacha Wares. His play, ''Contractions'', another Royal Court production, was presented in an earlier form at Theatre503 for The Apathists. ''Artefacts'' won the Old Vic New Voices Award and was premiered at The
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a sp ...
Imison Award
The Richard Imison Award is an award which recognises the best radio drama, generally by a writer new to the industry, and is now awarded as part of the BBC Audio Drama Awards. It was established in 1994 and commemorates the life and work of Richa ...
for his radio play, ''Not Talking'', which starred
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
and Richard Briers.
* Duncan Macmillan is the author of ''Monster'', which was produced at the Royal Exchange Theatre as part of the Manchester International Festival. The play won two awards in the inaugural Bruntwood Playwriting Competition and was nominated as Best New Play in the
TMA
TMA may refer to:
Science
* Tense–Modality–Aspect or ''tense–aspect–mood'', grammatical system
* Tetramethylammonium ion or its salts
* Thermomechanical analysis
* Third man argument, a philosophical criticism of Plato's theory of For ...
and MEN Awards. He went on to be the Writer in Residence at the Royal Exchange, then Pearson Playwright for Paines Plough. His radio play, ''I Wish To Apologise For My Part In The Apocalypse'', was broadcast on 17 July 2008 on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
(repeated 14 September 2009) and starred
Bill Nighy
William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he g ...
and
Amelia Bullmore
Amelia Mary Bullmore (born 31 January 1964) is an English actress, screenwriter and playwright. She is known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' (1990–1992), ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (2002), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2009), '' Twenty Twelve ...
.
*Simon Vinnicombe is the author of Time Out Critics Choice, ''Year 10'', at the
Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...
and the BAC. He is currently developing the screenplay of ''Year 10''.
*Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is one third of the comedy group Trippplicate, currently working with the BBC. Her plays ''Time Trippers'' and ''The Receptionists'' have been performed in Edinburgh and London. Her short play, ''Leo and Lisa'', was performed by
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...
,
Thandiwe Newton
Melanie Thandiwe Newton ( ; born 6 November 1972), formerly credited as Thandie Newton, is a British actress. Newton has received various awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for ...
and Elliot Cowan at the Palexpo in Geneva. In 2006 she won the Smiffie Award for Best New Comedy. She was commissioned to write ''Emilia'' for the
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
. Her father is Christopher Malcolm.
*Rachel Wagstaff is a theatre and television writer. She is the author of ''The Soldier'' and ''Night Sky'', which was performed initially for one night only at the
Old Vic Theatre
The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal V ...
, and featured an all-star cast led by
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series ...
David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to:
Sports
* Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor
* David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier
* David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer
Others ...
and
Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley (born 21 March 1983) is an English former actor. He is known for his roles as Darren Michaels and Todd Grimshaw in ''Coronation Street'' (2001–2004, 2007, 2011, 2013–2017) and Adam Mitchell in ''Doctor Who'' (2005).
In Octob ...
. The performance was in aid of
Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...
, a charity that reports on censorship, challenges free expression abuses, and publishes reportage and opinion from around the world.
*Nick Gill is a writer, illustrator and musician. His bands include Fireworks Night and The Monroe Transfer. As well as playing frequent gigs, he has performed at the Royal Court Theatre and Trafalgar Studios on the West End for Paines Plough. His plays include ''Heaven'', ''Karposi'', ''Cats & Cats & Cats & Cats & Cats'' and ''This is Never Going to Work''. His play ''Fiji Land'' was a finalist for the "Protect The Human" Amnesty International New Writing Award, hosted by Ice and Fire Theatre Company.iceandfire theatre /ref> He is the author of the screenplay ''Lifted'' and is supported by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.
Directors
The Apathists frequently used the same directors, including Lyndsey Turner,
Clare Lizzimore
Clare Lizzimore (born 1980) is a British theatre director and writer. Her production of 'Bull' by Mike Bartlett, won 'Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre' at the 2015 Olivier Awards. Lizzimore has been resident director at the Citize ...
, Dan Herd, Elizabeth Freestone, Duncan Macmillan and Lucy Kerbal.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to dram ...