Chileya is a Zambian born actor, playwright and director. She is an associate artist at the Mercury Theatre, where she has just completed their playwriting program 2020 - 2021; mentored by Kenneth Emson. She is currently in the Mercury creatives program where she is receiving mentorship from Hetty Shand. She is also an NYT member and a Fourth Monkey alumni.

 

Her debut into the industry was in 2018 when she wrote and directed a sold out show called ‘The Blind Truth’, at the Lyric Hammersmith. She later went on to direct a show called ‘Coconut Dairies’ by Stella Ajayi at Southwark Playhouse as part of the little pieces of gold showcase. Coconut diaries can be found in ‘Short Plays with Great Roles for Women’ published by Roultledge in 2019, She is a named original script director, by her former creative name Annie Mwampulo. 

 

The beginning of 2020 she received arts council funding, for an RnD at the Mercury Theatre, where she explored; why mental health is such a taboo subject in the black community and the effects it can have generationally.