The Team

Jo Carter (she/her)

Artistic Director

jo@immediate-theatre.com

Jo established Immediate Theatre from her Hackney council bed-sit in 1996.

“I had one of those light bulb moments whilst watching a show I had worked on in the West End. I realised I wanted a real relationship with the audience and to make theatre that mattered”.

Prior to setting up Immediate Theatre, Jo worked as a freelance director and project development worker leading new writing and education programmes for a range of theatre companies including: the Royal Court, Paines Plough, the Liverpool Everyman, Theatre Venture, Theatre Powys, and the Half Moon Young Peoples’ Theatre.

During her time at Immediate Theatre Jo has led and managed a diverse range of creative projects engaging those least likely to experience quality arts activities.

Enabling people to voice their ideas, challenge decision makers and have their stories told is at the heart her work. She is committed to creating pathways for people from diverse communities to build a future for themselves in the creative industries.

Jo has successfully managed a wide range of grants and contracts and has raised over 10 million pounds of funding to support the work.

Jo is committed to the local community, she is co-chair of the 16+ Network | Hackney Opportunities | Free courses for adults and families in Hackney and sits on the Hackney VCS Leadership group. She has done her time as Chair of Governors at a local Primary school and Chairs Maya Productions Diverse theatre that creates change – MAYA Productions.

Jo was nominated by people across Hackney to be added to Xenia's map of Trailblazing Women in 2024. The map highlights the inspiring untold stories of women across Hackney.

Take a walk around Hackney and discover the fantastic women and their organisations by downloading a free copy of the map, or listening to the Spotify guided audio walk here!

Suzy Smith (she/her)

General Manager

suzy@immediate-theatre.com

Suzy joined Immediate Theatre as General Manager in 2020 during lockdown, leading on financial, operational and company management and working with the Artistic Director to support organisational development.

Suzy started her theatre career working in costume, eventually becoming Wardrobe Mistress on Les Misérables in London, Dublin and Edinburgh.  Making the decision to move away from costume she completed a PGDip in Arts Management and joined Arts Council East Midlands before becoming Executive Director at Theatre Peckham, leading on strategy, organisational development, finance, and fundraising. Over 22 years at Theatre Peckham she worked with the Artistic Director to introduce thousands of young people to the performing arts and create pathways into careers in the creative industries. She is proud to have been key to creating Theatre Peckham’s purpose-built theatre, designed for young people from the local community and to have played a part in the lives and careers of numerous young creatives.

Suzy is passionate about providing opportunities for people from the local community to be involved in the performing arts and to tell their stories and is eager to use her experience managing organisations to support others to develop careers in the arts.

Charmain Humphrey (she/her)

Participation Manager

charmain@immediate-theatre.com

Charmain’s journey into the arts and youth work, began aged 5, attending Stage school, and going on to work for Spare Tyre Theatre Company, as well as the Youth Offending Team, Education for Choice, Tower Hamlets Youth Services, and Newham College.

A partnership project between Immediate Theatre and Education for Choice, where she worked as a lead peer, inspired her to join Immediate Theatre in 1999, as the first Peer Facilitator, going on to lead our youth programmes as Participation Manager, supporting participants, parents and staff across the organisation.

Charmain is usually the first line of contact for young people whose well-being may be at risk, making her job very rewarding but, at times difficult. However, her dedication to helping young people knows no bounds. She has managed to save lives and find several missing young people - which is a testament to her intuition and her Colombo tendencies. She has worked with countless young people, supporting both families and individuals, while ensuring no one is ever excluded from the arts.

Charmain has a plethora of experience and qualifications spanning sexual health, counselling, and youth work, she also has award-nominated project, Meet the Parents, under belt. She is currently (2025) Consort to the Speaker of Hackney and has won the mayor’s lifetime achievement awards as well as the High Sheriff of London awards. However, if you were to ever ask her about her achievements, you would soon find out they mean nothing, compared to the positive impact she has had on the lives of young people and her community.

Hannah Drummond (she/her)

Pathways Manager

hannah@immediate-theatre.com

Hannah co-ordinates our Pathways to Employment programme, maintaining relationships across the borough which are key in helping us to engage with participants. Supporting them to find routes into their chosen industries.  Whilst taking a lead on the delivery, Hannah is constantly looking for ways to improve the work that we do by challenging the norm and asking difficult questions that inevitably led to everybody feeling included.

Hannah graduated in 2019 with a 1st class honours from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in Drama, Applied Theatre and Education. She specialises in using drama as a vessel to open discussions, nurture creativity and boost self-esteem/confidence. She is a multidisciplinary practitioner with over 10 years’ experience in facilitating, directing, producing, and acting.

‘I am influenced to make spaces that allow people to have agency and for their untold stories, experiences and opinions to be heard.’

Kyarna Morris (she/her)

Schools Coordinator

kyarna@immediate-theatre.com

Kyarna's journey in drama started with Immediate Theatre's summer project, Exposure, where she discovered her passion for acting at 14 years old. Transitioning to a Peer Facilitator role, she delved deeper into the field, working part-time and gaining insights into the challenges young people face. This led her to pursue a degree in Criminology to enhance her understanding further.

Drawing from her academic pursuits and love for theatre, Kyarna integrates her expertise to empower young individuals and amplify their voices. Her involvement with London Youth: Rise Up in 2021 expanded her skills, promoting her from an Assistant Youth Drama Facilitator to a Youth Drama Leader, overseeing the Youth Board and contemplating her own initiatives.

Progressing to a Level 3 Youth Support Worker, she excelled, earning a distinction. Della, her performance manager, commended her with the following, “Kyarna has been a pleasure to work with, her passion, ethnical and behavioural boundaries are a credit to our profession, Kyarna was and still is involved with other external services of youth work and I am in no doubt she is still proving to other professions that youth workers are one of the most vital relationships in a young person life.”

Growing up in Hackney, Kyarna assumed the role of School Coordinator to bridge youth organisations and academies, aiming to expose local youth to creative opportunities. Leveraging her background, she ensures the voices of participants are heard, driven by a commitment to creating pathways for marginalised individuals.

James Creighton-Goode (he/him)

Administrator

james@immediate-theatre.com

James joined Immediate Theatre in 2023 as the Administrator after working primarily as a theatre producer. He studied Drama and Theatre at the University of Kent where he produced various shows before moving on to train at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Creative Producing. Through his training, James discovered he wanted to pursue the administration and management side of theatre, undertaking several roles as a freelancer after graduating in 2022. He worked at the Golden Goose Theatre as the Administrative Producer whilst simultaneously working as the Production Manager at Cervantes Theatre, the latter seeing him manage their 2023 show season. Outside of this, James has produced shows at the Other Palace, VAULT Festival and other fringe venues.

Originally from East London, James is bringing his experience to Immediate Theatre to combine his love for the arts with his passion for bringing theatre to communities.

Tamsin Hughes

Audio Producer

tamsin@immediate-theatre.com

After making a feature for Hackney Social Radio about a group of friends who go walking in Victoria Park in July 2020, Tamsin joined Immediate Theatre in September 2023. Her background is in audio production, having made work for the BBC, museums and art galleries. She loves talking to people, recording them and is proud to be a founder member of The Hackney and Newham History Social Club.

Carina Vogelsberger (she/her)

Production Assistant

carina@immediate-theatre.com

Carina is the production assistant for our oral history project, Voices of Change, and its sister podcast, the Hackney and Newham History Social Club.

She is involved in all aspects of the production process of our audio formats, from research to recording, editing, and transcribing. She also delivers training and supports our Voices of Change volunteer group in conducting their own oral history interviews.

Carina holds an MFA in documentary filmmaking from UCL London and a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from Malmo University in Sweden. She has completed training in oral history, audio editing and sound design. Her interest in community engagement through audio-visual media stems from her background in sociology and her experience working with refugee and local aid organisations in Europe and the Middle East. She has worked with people of various age groups in German, Swedish, English, and Arabic-speaking contexts. Since joining Immediate Theatre in May 2022, Carina has developed a specific focus on working with older age groups and people with disabilities.

Deane Dixon-Foster (he/him)

Projects Leader

deane@Immediate-theatre.com

Deane leads/supports with the delivery of the Estate Based Youth Theatres and is working on the Pathways to Employment programme helping with the day to day running and outreach with a focus on generating and delivering workshops.

Deane joined Immediate Theatre in 2021 as part of a Kickstart post, having professionally acted and studied Musical Theatre in Manchester he was excited to have the opportunity to support young people. Through his lived experience he is particularly passionate about working with those excluded from mainstream school and/or societal settings.

During his time at Immediate Theatre, he has completed a Jack Petchey internship and was the writer and director of the 2023 Exposure production ‘Behind The Yellow Line’, which won the creativity, innovation & ambition award at Hackney Youth Awards.

Gavin Dent (he/him)

EbYT Coordinator

gavin@immediate-theatre.com

Gavin has been working at Immediate Theatre for around three years, the role of SEND Coordinator has allowed him to contribute to the artistic development of young people and adults from the SEND community. Leading our Huddleston sessions, for young people aged 14 – 25 years.

Gavin has worked in several positions for a number of organisations; Spare Tyre, Cambridge Junction and Act-Up, to name a few. He very much enjoys being part of a creative ensemble and supporting artists to realise their creative ambitions.

“Immediate Theatre is a wonderful place to work, being on the front line of the community. I enjoy how we engage with a broad range of the community; I see the pride a lot of the people I work with have when they say they are associated with Immediate Theatre.”

Outside work Gavin enjoys keeping fit by walking his dog and cooking which people have said he has become quite good at.

Devere Mahbeir (he/him)

Marketing Officer

devere@immediate-theatre.com

Devere is a passionate marketer committed to fostering sustainable change in his community. His role involves overseeing the marketing communication of Immediate Theatre, ranging from managing the website, designing traditional marketing material, to building relationships on and off social media.

Devere’s passion for reaching and engaging communities has been a pivotal driving force in his career. Devere came to Immediate Theatre after working as a freelance business and marketing strategist, joining the Pathways programme, before stepping into his current role as marketing officer.

Devere possess a first-class honours Business Management and Marketing degree from London Metropolitan University and is fascinated by the potential of marketing to change behaviours and create a fairer society.

Freelancers & Volunteers

Working across all areas

Our work is made possible by the support of an incredibly talented bunch of freelancers and sessional staff, as well as dedicated volunteers. Our youth programmes are also supported by Peer Facilitators - young leaders (16-25) paid the London Living Wage and trained in drama workshop facilitation.