The Apathists
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The Apathists were a collective of British playwrights who staged plays and happenings in
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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. 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 spa ...
before a UK tour and a transfer to Broadway. He won the 2006
Tinniswood Award The Tinniswood Award is a British annual award for original radio drama. It is named in memory of Peter Tinniswood, who died in 2003, and was established by the Society of Authors and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain; it is sponsored by the A ...
and the 2006
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 Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...
. * 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 and MEN Awards. He went on to be the Writer in Residence at the Royal Exchange, then Pearson Playwright for
Paines Plough Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft. Over the past f ...
. 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 spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
(repeated 14 September 2009) and starred Bill Nighy and Amelia Bullmore. *Simon Vinnicombe is the author of Time Out Critics Choice, ''Year 10'', at the Finborough Theatre 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 accolades ...
, Thandiwe Newton and
Elliot Cowan Elliot Aidan Cowan (born 9 July 1976) is an English actor, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in ''Ultimate Force'', Mr Darcy in ''Lost in Austen'', and Ptolemy in the 2004 film ''Alexander''. He also starred as Lorenzo de' Medici in ''Da ...
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. 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, 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 '' ...
,
Saffron Burrows Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' ''Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' ''Gangster No. 1,'' ''Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' ''Reign Over Me'' and ''The ...
, David Baddiel, Navin Chowdhry,
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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"
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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 Lindsay or Lindsey () is an English surname and given name. The given name comes from the Scottish surname and clan name, which comes from the toponym Lindsey, which in turn comes from the Old English toponym ''Lindesege'' ("Island of Lind") fo ...
,
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.


Actors

Performers included
Terrence Hardiman Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail
Sara Stewart, Rosie Thomso

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and John Normington.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apathists Theatrical organisations in the United Kingdom