The Berry Theatre and its sister venue The Point Eastleigh are delighted to announce the appointment of Charlotte Hall as their new Creative Director.
Charlotte will join the team in June and has a long-standing relationship with The Point as a founder-member of theatre company ShadyJane, one of the venue’s early cohort of Associate Artists. The Company were supported by the venue from 2009 to 2013 through its visionary artist development programme, during which time ShadyJane went onto win a Total Theatre Award for Emerging Company in 2011 and to secure Arts Council funding for development and touring work in 2021 and 2013.
Charlotte is a University of Winchester Postgraduate with an MA Devised Performance and BA in Drama and continued her career in the region within the arts as Education Officer and Youth Drama Leader at the Corn Exchange in Newbury, before moving to Theatre Royal Winchester as their Community Engagement Manager. She returned to the Corn Exchange in 2017 and leaves the role of Head of Programming and Engagement with an impressive record of increasing attendance and developing work to respond to the needs of the venue’s community.
Charlotte will lead the artistic vision and output of the two Eastleigh Borough Council-operated venues, including all programming, their festivals and wider Borough events. She will continue to build key links with circus, aerial and outdoor artists and networks with a focus on developing The Point’s community work and broadening its arts and health output. She will continue to programme high-quality work for families at The Berry Theatre along with its successful theatre and comedy programme and develop opportunities to engage residents within the wider Borough of Eastleigh.
Charlotte said: “I know the organisations well from my experience as an Associate Artist so the circular narrative is really enjoyable. There is so much going on and so much potential and I am grateful to have the opportunity to come in, lead and support the team and to support artists as I was supported myself.
“As a local person, I feel connected to and very passionate about the communities we work with. Our buildings and our work are for them and I am excited to continue the good work that has already been done, and to do more of it. The arts are so important for mental health and wellbeing and it’s a real privilege to work on something that I feel so passionate about it but also has a positive impact on other people.”
Nickola Moore, Head of Arts and Culture at Eastleigh Borough Council, added: “We are delighted to welcome Charlotte to our team. Our venues and their work form a key strand of Eastleigh Borough Council’s Health and Wellbeing and Placemaking strategic priorities and underpin our service plan alongside Arts Council England Let’s Create 2020-2030 strategy.
“Charlotte’s appointment marks an exciting opportunity to support the development of creative people, cultural communities and find innovative ways to use our spaces, inside and out and across the Borough, allowing communities to connect with us and one another.”
Councillor Derek Pretty, Eastleigh Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy said: “I’m pleased to welcome Charlotte to our talented team at The Point and The Berry Theatre. Both venues are mainstays of the Borough’s cultural economy; they play an important role in promoting wellbeing, as well as the arts, and have established enviable reputations.
“We wish Charlotte luck in this exciting role and look forward to enjoying the programmes that she and the team produce as we emerge from the COVID pandemic.”
