Atticist are a fantastic bold emerging company who have gone from strength to strength. In 2016, their first production Life According to Saki won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award – the show then transferred to New York in 2017. Following their highly acclaimed run of East, Atticist became an associate company of the King’s Head Theatre. We caught up with Bridie Bischoff to find out more.
Tell us a little about Atticist?
We’re an independent theatre company made up of collaborators who come together as often as possible in between other freelance work. Our first show was Life According to Saki, which was a piece of new writing by author Katherine Rundell. We took it to the Edinburgh Fringe where it won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award and we were lucky enough to transfer to New York Off-Broadway in 2017. We opened 2018 with a revival of Steven Berkoff’s profane and revolutionary EAST at the King’s Head Theatre, which is where it first premiered in 1975. And now we have a brand new show, a revival of David Greig’s extraordinary play Outlying Islands opening in January.
How would you describe the kind of productions Atticist produces?
There’s a border – or, more accurately, a lack of border – between fantasy and reality that theatre can occupy. I think that space is somewhere we feel drawn to. Something can be very rooted in reality and then launch into somewhere fantastical. Sometimes it has one foot in each world. Beyond that, we’re flexible in our subject matter. In terms of what one of our shows looks like or feels like… dynamic actors with dedication and range, an invitation to escape, an invitation to connect, and a sense of humour.
How did you become involved in the company?
Talking about things turned into collaborating on things which turned into working on things. It started organically and has continued that way from production to production. For example, the three of us on the current producing team (Tom, David, myself) work together in a way that allows us to tap in and out without our freelance schedules impacting negatively on the company. As to why I wanted to get involved, it was the sheer joy of helping to create something, especially when doing so with shared vision and values.
What’s been your proudest moment with Atticist?
Any positive feedback is incredibly gratifying. You put in a lot to get a show to performance – and the cast give so much every night – and you can only hope that people take something from it. Speaking personally, it was a friend’s mum’s reaction. She came alone to our NYC run of Life According to Saki on a cold winter’s night, sat in the back row, and cried and laughed at a time when she really needed it. I still think of that evening a lot.
This year Atticist became an associate of the King’s Head, what opportunities did that open up?
The King’s Head are brilliant at championing artists and new voices in theatre so being an Associate Company means that we have that spirit behind us, which is a great support internally as well as when approaching potential collaborators. As a company, we really value active collaboration and so joining forces with an institution that is so established and that does so much to raise up London fringe theatre is invaluable. The King’s Head itself is in a really exciting period of its development and will be opening a new theatre space soon – that in itself represents new opportunities not just for us but for the wider theatre community.
What have you got planned next?
Outlying Islands will open at the King’s Head Theatre on 9th January, which we’re really excited about. It’s a privilege to bring such a beautiful piece of work from an exceptional writer like David Greig to the stage. Inspired by real events, the story takes place on a remote Scottish island just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Two young ornithologists sent by the government to conduct a study of the island’s birds start to realise their mission isn’t what they thought. Come and see it!
Aside from that, we have two pieces in active development: a powerful documentary-theatre piece based on David Doyle’s research into the murders of three gay men in Ireland in 1982, as well as a piece based in another world entirely.
We’d also love to do more work outside London and to collaborate further afield, so we hope to build on that over the next couple of years.
