Yaz Al-Shaater

Founder / Artistic Director

Yaz is a director and theatre maker. He founded Underground Venues on his gap year in 2005, in an effort to make a wider range of arts available to local audiences, and to help more people industry-wide discover the hidden gem that is the Buxton Fringe.
Yaz trained at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, and works in London as a director and filmmaker. Notable projects include Later Showers, Play On Words, Auditorium, Not The Messiah, and Boris World King. He is co-founder of Three's Company, Smooth Faced Gentlemen, and Brother Brother Film, and a Jerwood Assistant Director at The Young Vic Theatre, London.

Tom Crawshaw

Founder / Executive Director

Tom is a writer, producer and venue manager and co-founder with Yaz of Underground Venues and its artistic arm Three’s Company. He has been involved with the Buxton Fringe as a performer, producer or volunteer since 2002 and has also worked for the Pleasance in Edinburgh and was Director of the Oxford Fringe 2013-2015.

As a writer, Tom’s recent work includes Boris: World King (Pleasance Theatre and Trafalgar Studios), Not The Messiah (Theatre503 and UK tour) and Nonsense & Sensibility (Arts Theatre, London and touring).

Zoe Salmon

Deputy Manager

Zoe began with Underground on Work Experience in 2011. Since then, she has worked in a variety of roles, including Front of House Manager in 2015-16. She has also managed local events including the music festival Dazzley in summer 2016. She is currently studying English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.

Stokes

Technical Manager

Stokes is an experienced theatre technician for both Fringe and mainstream theatre, having recently worked as a venue technician at the Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh and Technical Manager of Hounslow Arts Centre. He joined Underground in 2015 and this year will be returning as we head over the road to a new space at The Old Clubhouse.