Bios

Human Cargo's network of theatre professionals is vast, spanning several national and cultural divides. Find out more about the projects bringing them together.

Gocha Kapanadze Gocha Kapanadze
Republic of Georgia
Director

Gocha is a director and actor residing in the Republic of Georgia. He is a graduate of the Tbilisi State Rustaveli Theatric Institute and Peter Brook’s Paris International Theatre Centre, as Stage Director. Acting highlights with the Tbilisi State Rustaveli Theatric Institute include Mr. Van Daan in the Diary of Anne Frank, Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum in the Three Penny Opera, Jason and Creon in Medea, Hero in Heroes’ Journey and Hamlet.

Directing credits include The House of Bernarda Alba (Rustaveli Theatre/Pakistan), Suitcase (GOG Theatre/England), The Millions of Naples, Intrigue and Love, and Mary Stuart, (Tbilisi State Rustaveli Theatric Institute/Republic of Georgia), Betrayal and Magic Bird (Sokhumi Drama Theatre/Republic of Georgia), Medea, Paradise Bird, Blood Wedding, and The Happy Nation! (Free Theatre), Hardships of Darispani (Sardapi Cellar Theatre), Theatre Ghosts (Theatre on Atoneli), Daisi (Batumi Opera Theatre), Train a Falcon (Rustaveli University of Theatre and Cinema), One, two, three, Invisible Hairpin, and Proposal (Tbilisi State Azeri Drama Theatre), Quartet (Rustaveli State Drama Theatre), and Ephemeral Destiny (Rustavi Municipal Drama Theatre.

Winner of the Georgia State Award and the Shervashidze Prize, Gocha’s collaborations have taken him all over the world, from the GOG Theatre in England, the Vienna International Theatre, Pakistan International Theatre, Russian International Christmas Festival, the Warsaw and Bucharest International Festival, Baku Youth Theatre, and Mimi Denis’ Theatre in Athens. He is currently working with Human Cargo on their production The Runner.

Christopher Morris Christopher Morris
Canada
Writer, Actor

Christopher is a director, actor and playwright residing in Toronto. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Human Cargo, and is co-founder/co-artistic director of the Tununiq Arsarniit Theatre Group, an Inuit theatre company based in Pond Inlet, Nunavut.  Prior to initiating these companies Christopher established himself as a director, with Mary’s Wedding (Grand Theatre/London), The Bear (Preface Theatre/The Art Gallery of Ontario), I Am Yours  (Equity Showcase Theatre), Mad Forest (Guest Director -University of Toronto), The Crack Walker  (Trinity Theatre, Dublin), Salt Water Moon  (Queen’s University) and Riders to the Sea (Queen’s University). Christopher also assistant directed Medea (Sardapi Theatre, Republic of Georgia) and Vote (Theatre for Change, Azerbaijan).

In September/2007 Christopher launched Human Cargo, a multi-disciplinary theatre company based in Toronto that uses the creation of new works as a means to expose and discuss social and political issues. Through cross-cultural exchange and professional mentorship, it offers Canadian and international performance artists, and youth, a creative environment where they’ll be inspired to express themselves by transforming their life experiences into theatrical language. Human Cargo’s vision is to spark an innovative theatrical/cultural/social movement that inspires audiences to re-evaluate their personal and global perspectives of the human condition.

 As a professional actor he has worked with Soulpepper, the Tarragon Theatre, Necessary Angel, Theatre Passe Muraille, the Blyth Festival, Young People’s Theatre, Canadian Stage, The Grand Theatre (London and Kingston), Shakespeare Works, Resurgence Theatre, Theatrefront, the Thousand Islands Playhouse, and Halifax’s Shakespeare by the Sea, to name a few. He is a founding member of the Toronto based, award winning company Theatrefront. With Theatrefront he spearheaded Return: The Sarajevo Project, a theatre creation between Bosnian and Canadian Theatre artists (which was nominated for five Dora Mavor Moore Awards). His international work as an actor has brought him to Ireland, France, Bosnia, South Africa, the Republic of Georgia, and Iceland.

 Christopher studied directing at Queen’s University and Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a BAH in Theatre/Literature and a Bachelor of Education. While directing I am Yours at Equity Showcase in 2003, Christopher was mentored by Daniel Brooks. In 2005 Christopher received funding from Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program to complete an eleven-week director mentorship in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia with the award-winning Georgian director Gocha Kapanadze. During this time he also trained with Caryne Chapman-Clarke and Theatre for Change in Baku, Azerbaijan. Christopher is the recipient of the 2005 K.M Hunter Award for Theatre, was for a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2006 as a playwright for Return: The Sarajevo Project and was nominated for the 2008 John Hirsch Award.