Charlotte Everest
Theatre Director, Artistic director, Drag king, Lecturer
Image from Passion Play, Leeds, 2016
About...
Photo by Marissa Davison
Hi there,
I’m Chaz, an award-winning Theatre Director, Drag King, lecturer, producer and the Artistic Director of Mrs C’s Collective, an Associate Company at the Space theatre.
I'm currently the Resident Assistant Director for Hamilton (West End, UK & Ireland Tour) and an Associate Artist and headphone verbatim practitioner for Kristine Landon-Smith, collaborating across her international portfolio of award-winning theatre and film.
My artistic voice reflects my passion for working with communities and championing accessibility and well-being in theatre, with innovative collaborations being a vehicle for that. I have trained in headphone verbatim and drag, relocated to Nairobi to direct and choreograph their national pantomime, collaborated with hip hop artists and rappers to adapt Blackout by Davey Anderson, and worked with community organisations and action groups, such as working bilingually with hearing-impaired children in India on an improvised short film. I’m also a moover and groover, having trained with Living Pictures in the Michael Chekhov Technique and often working with complicité & clowning practices to create through the body.
I’m currently working with Mrs C’s Collective, a team of specialists and the University of Greenwich to develop and accredit training on how to make trauma-informed art safely. More here. Previously, our 12-month writer development programme, The Writers’ Collective, commissioned four underrepresented writers and employed 46 freelancers to bring their stories to life. For this work, I was awarded the Olwen Wymark Award.
As a creative, I’m skilled in musicals, drag, dramaturgy, devising, site-responsive, site-specific and immersive theatre, movement direction, working with young people, BSL (working towards Level 1 Award), trauma-informed art practices.
My directing career began in Leeds, directing Churchill’s Love and Information. I then began to expand my style, completing a sold-out run of an immersive and site-specific performance of Peter Nichols’ Passion Play. Since launching my career in Leeds, I have committed my time to working with local councils, collaborating with many detached communities, involving schools and charities to create projects inspired and directly affected by real people. These projects resulted in devised, immersive and site-specific performances, unpicking the history and identity of the site and the communities involved.
“Everest’s direction comes into its own
Uninhibited and brave
Creative vivacity
Bold and engaging”
“This piece presents a myriad of possibilities that I’m sure other artists will steal”
“The highest commendation should go to the director Charlotte Everest.
Her creativity should be applauded.”
“She is a hands-on professional
Enchanting and spicy
Departure from tradition, director Charlotte Everest dared in this wildly inventive pantomime
Revolutionising the old model without ruffling too many traditionalists’ feathers
”
“Charlotte Everest’s production is superb
An utter delight”
Everest created and directed a short film based on the work achieved in Winded the play.
Charlotte Everest is currently working on...
“...and much of what happens in Dream School, offer beautiful examples of safe, effective ways to depict trauma onstage. The piece presents a myriad of possibilities that I’m sure other artists will steal in the hopes that we have more moments in theatre in which we can explore and (more importantly) learn from tragedy.”
”
We have just completed our three-year project DREAM SCHOOL, where I worked as director and producer alongside Mrs C’s Collective, Space Productions and the University of Greenwich, supported by Arts Council England.
I’m currently working with Mrs C’s Collective, a team of specialists and the University of Greenwich to develop and accredit training on how to make trauma-informed art safely. More here. We are also currently completing our 12-month writer development programme, The Writers’ Collective, working with four underrepresented writers, four new plays and 46 freelancers.
Other Projects…
Charlotte is currently working with Mrs C’s Collective as their artistic director, supporting the Collective’s development and various initiatives.
Charlotte is Associate Artist to Kristine Landon-Smith; directing, assisting and producing on various projects in both theatre and film and within the community.