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.
I'm currently the resident director for Hamilton (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 is characterised by a commitment to working with communities and exploring the intersection of movement, well-being and accessibility in theatre. I’ve specialised in site-responsive & immersive theatre, 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.
As Artistic Director of Mrs C’s Collective, I have committed three years to developing a trauma-informed theatre practice that can be taught and shared across the industry. We are now joyously close to completing this groundbreaking training, thanks to the University of Greenwich. This initiative underscores my dedication to creating a more inclusive and accessible theatre landscape - 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.
“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.”
“Charlotte Everest’s production is superb...An utter delight”
“She is a hands-on professional
Departure from tradition, director Charlotte Everest dared in this wildly inventive pantomime
Revolutionising the old model without ruffling too many traditionalists’ feathers
”
I am 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 a training on how to make trauma-informed art safely. More here.
