Charlie Underhill is an independent theatre producer born, raised, and based in Tāmaki Makaurau. An arts and entertainment nerd from a young age, Charlie enjoyed an exciting career in Ticketing and Event Management, working for festivals, venues, and ticketing agencies before she began producing theatre in 2019, working with friends who wanted to get their development works on stage and in front of audiences. Charlie has collaborated with a wide range of artists and companies since, and eventually led to her founding Flyleaf Theatre Company with close friends and collaborators Grace Augustine and Aaron Richardson in 2025. With a personal interest in working with devising artists, Charlie continues to produce theatre with emerging and established companies.
Here is Charlie’s Shameless Plug.
My guilty pleasure is KFC Double Downs. Thankfully these are always a limited time menu item, but whenever it’s Double Down season my car will always have a whiff of the memory of fried chicken
My closest collaborator is Grace Augustine. We have been working together for years, since meeting to develop A Fools Company's second fully devised adult show The Wedding, on to Cowboy Dreaming with Lunar Collaborative, and in 2025 founding Flyleaf Theatre Company alongside Aaron Richardson – nothing beats working with friends who have the same goals and attitude towards art, it makes the work that much better!
The place I feel most creative is in a rehearsal room. I honestly love simply being in the room where it happens, knowing each person is doing the thing they love to do, and that I've been one supportive piece of the thing they are all contributing to.
The one Aotearoa arts event I never miss is the NZ International Comedy Festival. I have spent a lot of time laughing until I cry at Comedy Fest shows. The trick is to always take a punt on at least one comedian you’ve not aware of, you never know who might be your new favourite comedy act.
My personal motto is: If you don't ask, you won't know.
My favorite podcast is We Love To See It by Claire Fallon and Emma Gray. I specifically love the Golden Bachelorette season commentary episodes, never seen an episode of these reality dating shows, but I am totally up-to-date with the drama!
The best place in my city is Karangahape Road. I went to AGGS so may be a little biased, but I can spend a whole day and night on K’ Road. It’s where I’ve found most of my favourite fashion pieces tucked away in an op-shop, where I will usually end up on a night out for a boogie (or karaoke), not to mention coffee and pastries from the likes of Fort Greene and Bestie, or dinner and drinks at Coco’s Cantina, Otto, or The White Lady.
My all time favourite artwork is Banana Split, which debuted in the 2024 Auckland exhibit Puffed Up. IYKYK… ;)
My favourite TV show is Broad City. I flip flop between feeling like I am an Abbi or an Ilana – this iconic show introduced me to two incredibly funny women who led the way for oddball stoner girls in the 2010’s, encouraging me to bring more joyful “fuck it” energy into my life.
My shameless plug is my upcoming Flyleaf Theatre Company production An Enemy of the People. It's written by Henrik Ibsen, and newly adapted by Aaron Richardson. This is a modern reimagining that relocates the story from nineteenth century Norway to present-day Aotearoa, placing Ibsen’s drama inside our country’s burgeoning water crisis.
An Enemy of the People is presented with Q Season Season Support at Q Theatre Loft from 12 – 22 August. Tickets are on sale now!
