Alexi Kaye Campbell (born 1966) is a Greek-British playwright and actor. In 2009, his play '' The Pride'' was given the

Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre The Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of ...

Personal life

Alexi Kaye Campbell was born Alexi Komondouros in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, to a Greek father and British mother. The name Campbell comes from his mother's family. He was brought up in Athens and went to Greek primary school, then Campion School and St Lawrence College, the British International schools in Athens. After graduating from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

with a degree in English and American Literature, Kaye Campbell went on to study acting at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

in London. Kaye Campbell has lived with his partner, the director

Dominic Cooke Dominic Cooke (born 1966) is an English director and writer. Early life Born in Wimbledon, south London, Cooke was brought up seeing a lot of theatre as a teenager from free theatre tickets provided by the Inner London Education Authority. ...

since 1997.

Acting

Before turning to writing Kaye Campbell worked for many years as an actor. His work included seasons at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

(RSC) and with

Oxford Stage Company Headlong is a British touring theatre company noted for making bold, innovative productions with some of the UK’s finest artists. Jeremy Herrin took over the artistic directorship of the company in 2013, and is the current artistic director. Ar ...

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya John Hidalgo Moya (5 May 1920 – 3 August 1994), ...

The Royal Court The Royal Court is a music production team formed by producer Timbaland and Solomon "King" Logan. Their first work was the single "Ice Box" by Omarion from the album '' 21'', co-produced with Timbaland. Discography 2006 Omarion - '' 21'' *"Ice B ...

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. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

and with

Shared Experience Shared Experience is a British theatre company.
Its current joint

Writing

Alexi's first play ''Death in Whitbridge'' was performed as a rehearsed reading 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 p ...

in London as part of the Vibrant Playwrights Festival. In November 2008 Kaye Campbell's second play, '' The Pride'', was produced for 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 non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

Upstairs for which he was awarded

The Critics' Circle The Critics' Circle is the national Professional association, professional body of United Kingdom, British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics ...

Prize for Most Promising Playwright and the

John Whiting Award Between 1965 and 2010, the John Whiting Award (from 2007 renamed the Peter Wolff Trust Supports the John Whiting Award) was awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, showed a new ...

for Best New Play. The production, directed by

Jamie Lloyd Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the ''Halloween'' franchise. Introduced in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' as the series' new protagonist after Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return as Laurie ...

, was also awarded a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for Outstanding Achievement in an affiliate theatre. It starred

Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in ''Matilda the Musical'', and for Best Actor in a Supporti ...

JJ Feild John Joseph Feild (born 1978) is a British-American film, television and theatre actor. He started his television career in 1999. Feild played Fred Garland in Philip Pullman's ''The Ruby in the Smoke'' and ''The Shadow in the North'' television ...

Lyndsey Marshal Lyndsey Marshal (born 16 June 1978) is an English actress best known for her performance in '' The Hours'', and as the recurring character Cleopatra on HBO's ''Rome'', and as Lady Sarah Hill in BBC period drama ''Garrow's Law''. Biography Mars ...

and Tim Steed. In January 2010 ''The Pride'' transferred to America and was produced for the

MCC Theater MCC Theater (Manhattan Class Company) is an off-Broadway theater company located in New York City, founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey and William Cantler. Blake West joined the company in 2006 as executive direc ...

in New York City, directed by

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on Broadway productions of ''Wicked'', '' Take Me Out'', and ''Assassins'', having gained notoriety in the 1993 cast of ''Angels in America''. Early li ...

. The cast included

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

Andrea Riseborough Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress and producer. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008), '' Never Let Me Go ...

Hugh Dancy Hugh Michael Horace Dancy (born 19 June 1975) is an English actor who rose to prominence for his role as the titular character in the television film adaptation of ''David Copperfield'' (2000) as well as for roles in feature films as Kurt Schmid ...

and Adam James. The play won the GLAAD award for Best New Play. Since then, 'The Pride' has been produced in many theatres worldwide, including in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, and Germany. Kaye Campbell's third play, ''Apologia'', was produced 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 s ...

in the summer of 2009, directed by

Josie Rourke Josie Rourke (born 3 September 1976) is an English theatre and film director. She is a Vice-President of the London Library and was the artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre from 2012 to 2019. In 2018, she made her feature film debut w ...

. ''Apologia'' was short-listed for The John Whiting Award and nominated for the

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The un ...

award for Best Theatre Play. 'Apologia' was also produced at the MTC Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, with

Robyn Nevin Robyn Anne Nevin (25 September 1942) is an Australian actress, director, and stage producer, recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Austral ...

playing the part of Kristin. It was also produced at the

Bungakuza is a Japanese theatre company. Along with the Mingei Theatre Company and the Haiyuza Theatre Company it is considered one of the "Big Three" among Shingeki theatre troupes. History The company was founded by Kunio Kishida, Mantarō Kubota and ...

Theatre Company in Japan. Kaye Campbell's fourth play ''The Faith Machine'' premiered at the

in August 2011 directed by

and starring

Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...

and

Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in '' ...

. It was also produced at the

Theatre in Tokyo. His fifth play ''

Bracken Moor {{For, the football ground, Stocksbridge Park Steels F.C. ''Bracken Moor'' is a 2013 play by the British playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell. It is premiering at the Tricycle Theatre in London (in a co-production with Shared Experience Shared Experienc ...

'' premiered at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

, London in June 2013, directed by Polly Teale. In Autumn 2013 a revival of ''The Pride'', directed by Jamie Lloyd, enjoyed a successful run in the West End before embarking on a national tour. His sixth play, ''Sunset at the Villa Thalia'', premiered at the National Theatre in London in May 2016, in a production directed by Simon Godwin and starring

Ben Miles Benjamin Charles Miles (born 29 September 1966) is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the television comedy ''Coupling'', from 2000 to 2004, as Montague Dartie in ''The Forsyte Saga'', from 2002 to 2003, as ...

Elizabeth McGovern Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress and musician. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination. Born in Evanston, Ill ...

, Sam Crane and

Pippa Nixon Pippa Nixon (born 1980) is an English actress. She trained at Manchester School of Theatre. Nixon has had numerous roles in film and television as well as recording drama for BBC Radio, but she is best known for her critically acclaimed theat ...

. In August 2017 a revival of ''Apologia'' was produced at The Trafalgar Studios in London, directed by

and starring

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series ''The West Wing'' ( ...

. In September 2018 ''Apologia'' will also be produced at the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

in New York. Kaye Campbell's first film script, '' Woman in Gold'', produced by

BBC Films BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...

and

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

, was directed by Simon Curtis and stars

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

and

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...

. It was the highest earning independent film of 2015.

Plays

*''Death in Whitbridge'' (2008) – Finborough Theatre, London *'' The Pride'' (2008) – Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, 2008; MCC Theatre, New York, 2010; Crucible Theatre (Studio Theatre), Sheffield, 2011 *''Apologia'' (2009) – The Bush Theatre, London, 2009; Laura Pels Theatre, NYC, 2018 *''The Faith Machine'' (2011) – Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, London, 2011 *''Bracken Moor'' (2013) – Shared Experience & Tricycle Theatre, London, 2013 *''Sunset at the Villa Thalia ''(2016) National Theatre, London, 2016

Films

*'' Woman in Gold'' (2015)

Awards and nominations

External links

''The Standard''

''The Guardian''

Take Pride in an Ideal
''Metro''
'Campbell Leads Court Slate'
''Variety''
'The Pride @ The Studio'''Sheffield Theatres''
* https://www.indiewire.com/article/the-20-highest-grossing-indies-of-2015-a-running-list-

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Alexi Kaye Living people Greek dramatists and playwrights Greek people of British descent Greek screenwriters Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art LGBT writers from Greece Writers from Athens LGBT dramatists and playwrights 1966 births Greek male writers Male dramatists and playwrights Male screenwriters 21st-century Greek male writers 21st-century British screenwriters 21st-century Greek dramatists and playwrights 21st-century LGBT people