About WhatNot
We are a physical duo of two women who create highly visual, playful participation theatre from scratch for families and young people.
Founded in Oxford in 2018, we share a passion for creating original stories, accessible for all, using a mix of participation, physical storytelling and puppetry to engage and excite our audiences.
WhatNot's work is highly versatile, creating performances for both indoor and outdoor spaces in the most unusual of places.
WhatNot are proud associate and SPARK artists of Pegasus Theatre Oxford as well as associate artists of Old Fire Station Oxford. We have also created work with support from The Oxford Playhouse and Oxford University's TORCH.
Other work includes Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, Didcot, Cornerstone Arts Centre, Sandwell District Council, Oxford University and many more.
Check out our CV for a full breakdown of our work
Meet the Company
Emma Claire-Blythe
Emma is one half of WhatNot’s co-artistic directors. She trained at Rose Bruford on the European Theatre Arts degree which led to her love of devised theatre and Spanish Beer!
Emma is the more tech savvy of the company and when she is not dancing around on stage or bringing a puppet to life she can be found squirrelling away on some form of technical stage design. Alongside WhatNot, Emma has been a feautred singer in Local care homes singing some Golden Oldie tunes for residents with dementia as well as being a contempoary dancer and movement artist.
Emma’s favourite things in life are a strong cup of coffee, her cat Snax and some good physical theatre. Also, it is quite a sight to behold just how much of WhatNot set and costume can fit into Emma’s tiny Corsa.
Lucy Hoult
Lucy is the What to Emma’s Not. She trained at the Birmingham School of Acting and discovered her love for even stronger coffee here.
In her acting career, Lucy has had roles in BBC Doctors, spent five years as a core member of Deck Theatre and peeked under a Scotmans kilt in a nationwide commercial for Scot’s Porridge Oats. When she is not devising or writing theatre shows, Lucy can be found in a nearby charity shop rummaging for costumes...she says it’s for costume but it’s actually for herself.
Friends of WhatNot
