The Team

At Immediate Theatre, we're more than just a team - we're a community of passionate and dedicated individuals who share a common vision of using the arts to create positive change in our society.

  • Jo Carter (she/her)

    Artistic Director

    jo@immediate-theatre.com

    Jo established Immediate Theatre in 1996 to create a relationship between her work and the community in which she lives, Hackney. Prior to this, Jo worked as a freelance director and project development worker for a range of organisations leading new writing and education programmes. These included: the Royal Court, Paines Plough, the Liverpool Everyman, Theatre Venture, Theatr Powys, the Half Moon Young Peoples’ Theatre. Jo is Chair of Governors for a local Primary School, trustee of Maya Productions and Mimbre, a local Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation, and has delivered consultancy projects for the Round House and London Bubble.

    During her career, Jo has developed plays which introduce older audiences of differing cultural backgrounds which was invaluable when delivering intergenerational work with funding from Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery. She has had huge success winning funding bids for Immediate, including large contracts of over £300,000, resulting in a turnover of £850,000. This reputation was recognised widely, with Jo winning awards for excellence from the Learning Trust and National Social Care & Health projects. With Immediate, Jo conceived the EbYT model, providing sustained arts activities in the most deprived areas of Hackney, and has also led on Theatre Pathways, tackling inequality for BAME young people seeking a career in the arts.

  • Suzy Smith (she/her)

    General Manager

    suzy@immediate-theatre.com

    Suzy joined Immediate Theatre in June 2020, bringing with her 20 years of experience in community arts. Prior to this, Suzy was Executive Director at Theatre Peckham, an Arts Council National Portfolio Organsation, providing performing arts education and pathways into the creative industries for young people from the local community.
    Suzy started her theatre career working in costume, eventually becoming Wardrobe Mistress on Les Miserables London and taking the production on tour to Dublin and Edinburgh. After completed a postgraduate diploma in Arts Management at Northumbria University, she spent several years as a Drama Officer at the Arts Council (East Midlands) before returning to London and joining Theatre Peckham.