Eight Playwrights Selected for Jewish Playwrights Programme

Now in its second year, the Jewish Playwrights Programme supports emerging and early-career playwrights through the development of a full-length play. Generously sponsored by the Shoresh Charitable Trust, the six-month programme combines expert mentoring, dramaturgical feedback, sustained peer support and industry exposure. Building on a first year that culminated in a showcase at the 75th anniversary of Jewish Book Week, the programme is designed to support each writer's script, alongside their craft, confidence and place within the UK theatre industry.

Joining the 2026/27 cohort are Kayla Feldman, Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller, Kali Klein-Hughes, Dylan Zwickel, Thom Munden, Alexandra Hart, Eliana Ostro and Esther Caplin. The cohort includes an Alpine Fellowship Prize winner and writers recognised by the George Devine Award, the Women's Prize for Playwriting and the BBC Writers Popcorn Award, with backgrounds spanning directing, dramaturgy, film, poetry, fiction and art history. Their work has been developed with the Almeida and seen at venues including Park Theatre, Seven Dials Playhouse and the Edinburgh Fringe.

The plays developed on the programme will span continents and generations, from sweeping family sagas to stories of assimilation, political upheaval and immigrant life, confronting questions of faith, autonomy and identity in the present day and beyond. Together, they reflect the breadth of Jewish experience and the many ways it can be told on stage.

Julia Pascal, one of Britain's most distinguished playwrights and the first woman to direct at The National Theatre, will be the lead mentor for the cohort. She joins following the recent production of her latest play, The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt, France, 1940, at the Arcola Theatre, which focuses on the internment of Hannah Arendt, Charlotte Salomon and Eva Daube in wartime France. Pascal will run workshops for the cohort to develop their craft, test ideas and challenge their work. Presented in partnership with Artsdepot, the programme will conclude with an industry day, where extracts from each script will be rehearsed and brought to life by a leading director and professional actors.

As Rachel Borchard Lewis, Trustee of the Shoresh Charitable Trust, says, “We are delighted to see such a talented group of playwrights come through the programme's first open call. Supporting writers at this stage of their careers is an important part of building the future of Jewish playwriting, and we look forward to following their progress.”

The programme adds to the Jewish Literary Foundation's 75-year history of nurturing authors and writers through its Jewish Book Week festival and year-round activities, including the JLF-Genesis Emerging Writers Programme, which has supported more than 50 writers since 2021, the Freudenheim Translation Prize, the Risa Domb/Porjes Prize for Hebrew/English Translation and the Jewish Children's Book Awards.

As Claudia Rubenstein, Director of the Jewish Literary Foundation, says, “What struck us most about this cohort is the sheer variety of stories they want to tell, from family histories to questions of identity, faith and belonging today. That breadth is exactly what we hoped opening applications would bring, and it's a real sign of the strength of Jewish playwriting in Britain.”

More information about the Jewish Playwrights Programme can be found here. Details about the 2026/27 cohort can be found here.