Meet the Maker: Estelle Chout
Published: Thursday 20th November 2025.
Introduce yourself and your arts practice.
Kia ora, I’m Estelle Chout. I’m a writer, performer who hails from the island of Martinique in the Caribbean. I am also the proud founder of Chout Financial Services, where I help creatives (businesses and individuals) build sustainable, smart financial foundations. My creative work explores the beautiful, messy complexities of relationships, the ties that both bind and unravel us.
What’s your favourite thing about what you do?
The moment an idea finds its voice and then finds its people. Whether it’s a play or a financial strategy, I love it when something that felt raw in my head becomes alive, meaningful, and shared.
What’s the hardest thing about what you do?
Switching mindsets. One minute I’m staring at balance sheets, the next I’m stepping into character on stage. The logic and lines of an accountant don’t always gel with the vulnerability of a playwright/actor and navigating both is an exquisite kind of challenge.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Listen before you talk and when you talk to someone, talk to them, don’t just talk to yourself.” If you’re not present in a conversation, you’re already writing your own side story.
What’s the best show you’ve seen this year?
A Mixtape for Maladies. It really stayed with me. On the surface, it’s a story about nostalgia, but underneath it’s a tender, unhurried exploration of family, memories and generational trauma. What I loved most were the little hidden treasures tucked inside the relationships, the tiny gestures, the unspoken tensions, the dance of grief, humour, love, anger and hurt that weave the ever-so-complex bonds that make us uniquely human.
What was your inspiration behind Po’ Boys & Oysters?
During lockdown, I joined a Zoom call with my siblings. We were all grown-ups. We began arguing like kids anyway. That relapse into old patterns sparked a curiosity: What holds a sibling bond across age, culture, identity, ambition. Po’ Boys & Oysters was born from that zoom-triggered revelation.
What was your experience being a writer and performer in Po’ Boys & Oysters?
It’s like riding a rollercoaster you secretly built yourself. Writing it was intimate, performing it was exhilarating, and doing both meant I couldn’t hide from the emotional truth of the work, in the best way. Sharing the stage with a powerhouse cast and director made it an experience I’ll treasure forever.
