He co-founded and led HighTide, one of the UK's theatre companies, as well as the National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England.

[4] In 2007, Atkinson co-founded and became artistic director of HighTide,[5] quickly establishing the theatre company as one of the leading production firms in the UK.

The Sunday Times praised Atkinson's Stovepipe as "a five-star production in its power and ambition"[citation needed], while The Independent called it "exhilaratingly convincing.

In the same season, Atkinson also produced Joel Horwood's I Caught Crabs In Walberswick, which transferred to the Bush Theatre.

At HighTide, Atkinson produced and championed many of the leading new writers of the last decade, including Anders Lustgarten,[10] Luke Barnes,[11] Tallulah Brown,[12] E V Crowe,[13] Elinor Cook,[14] Rob Drummond,[15] Kenny Emson,[16] Kieran Hurley,[17] Theresa Ikoko,[18] Branden Jacobs-Jenkins,[19] Ella Hickson,[20] Eve Leigh,[21] Vinay Patel,[22] Nick Payne,[23] Beth Steel,[24] Al Smith,[25] Sam Steiner,[26] and Jack Thorne.