Headshot, 2026
A bit about the work
Trained at the Oxford School of Drama and with Philippe Gaulier in Paris, Xavier moves easily between the precision of George Wickham-esque villains and the invention of physical comedy.
Credits include work across features, television and short film, listed below.
Selected credits
Girls Who Like Boys... (Hope Theatre)
Limitless (Brixton House)
Pop Goes the Dollar (Codex Theatre)
On one hand
The villain, played straight
Costume dramas and heightened text, where the antagonist believes they're right. A specialism built on stillness, control, and the occasional silk coat.
On the other
The clown, played true
Gaulier-trained comedy: play, timing, and the willingness to fail in front of an audience. Where the villain holds back, this side gives everything.
"Atkins does this particularly well, quick to switch between reporter, banker, and White House treasurer, with a performative contrast that brings well-needed humour."— Reviews Hub
"Atkins does seriously well… hilariously flicking between right-wing Texan insights to composed British reporting – incredibly good!"— RatedReviewed
"Atkins pulls this off well, and his character development with Lucas would make any woman alone in his studio a little uneasy."— North West End
Writing Experience
Selected for the inaugural production of Pressure, the play explored the homelessness crisis and was deeply informed by Andrew Fraser's scorching autobiography, Invisible.
Written and directed at the Edinburgh Fringe. Inspired by Waiting for Godot, it asks what would happen if one of the characters became aware of the play's central absurdity and was forced to pull the other out of their daydream.
A story about a man trying to break the world record for the longest time spent juggling, performed as part of a scratch night at the Royal Court and as a rehearsed reading at Theatre503.
I had the privilege of performing my own writing at Brixton House as part of the Limitless Showcase.
In the rehearsal room
Company headshots
Training
Classical and contemporary text, verse, movement and voice providing the grounding for villains, leading men, and everything in between.
Clown, bouffon and the neutral mask at the school of one of the most influential teachers of physical comedy.
