Bush Theatre Launches New Emerging Writers Group and a New Literary Team

The Bush Theatre has announced a change to its Literary team along with the new members of its 2023 Emerging Writers Group (EWG).  This year's cohort will be Kaleya Baxe, Yasmine Dankwah, Aaron Kilercioglu, Lare Ofeyusi, Mwansa Phiri, Tanya Shamil.

Titilola Dawudu is the new Associate Dramaturg at the Bush.  She has worked for and with organisations such as Clean Break, Ovalhouse, Soho Theatre, NitroBeat, Tamasha, The Advocacy Academy, the British Council and Coventry City of Culture Trust. Titilola co-created and edited Hear Me Now Audition Monologues for Actors of Colour with Tamasha, and Vol.2 was published in August 2022 by Methuen Drama.

She said, ‘I remember how I felt watching An Adventure and Leave Taking at the Bush. I remember meeting Tyrell Williams at Ovalhouse and first reading Kwame Owusu's script of Dreaming and Drowning, so I'm glad of the journey I've been on which has now taken me back to the Bush. I get to be a part of this great community to discover, build and collaborate with great people.'

Laetitia Somé joins the Bush team as Literary and Producing Assistant.  She is a French-Burkinabé writer and actress who trained through two MAs at la Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and at IDSA in London. She's been in the UK for five years and is passionate to discover new voices, especially the ones coming from queer and global majority backgrounds. Her multicultural heritage helps her broaden her horizon when it comes to reading new plays, with an attention on playing with form. She said, ‘The first time I visited the Bush (for Sleepova by Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini) felt like finding a home; it felt like a door had opened for thrilling opportunities for people who look like me, who think like me, and who hope as strongly as me.'

Internationally famed for developing the very best of the UK's leading writers, the Bush, through their EWG talent development programmes, open routes into the theatre to people who didn't previously have access.  It has most recently helped launch the careers of Tyrell Williams, whose play Red Pitch opened at the Bush Theatre and will transfer to @sohoplace theatre in 2024, and Waleed Akhtar The P Word, winner of this year's Olivier Award for Most Outstanding Production in an Affiliate Theatre.

Benedict Lombe (Lava), whose new play Shifters opens at the Bush in 2024 and who is a previous member of the EWG, said, ‘The Bush is my theatre family. I submitted a script during their open calls for script submissions, and they invited me to join their Emerging Writers Group. This was an investment, in every sense of the word. From giving me the space to experiment and develop my craft – straight through to programming the world premiere of my debut play on their main stage. If you think it's just another scheme, think again. And then send in your play – they really are rooting for you.' 

Titilola Dawudu, said, ‘The Emerging Writers' Group is one of our most exciting and effective ways to meet and develop new talent, as our most recent season has shown. Many of our recent plays were written by Emerging Writers' Group alumni, including two of whom we met through Open Submissions'

Kaleya Baxe is a London-born German and Angolan writer, director and facilitator. She is currently developing her play The Tree who Found her Roots with Uproot Productions and her play the light that blinds was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Playwriting 2023.

Yasmine Dankwah is a British-Ghanaian spoken word poet and writer. Her first full-length play, rite to party, was longlisted for the Tony Craze Awards 2022 and was further developed on The North Wall's Catalyst Residency in 2023.

Aaron Kilercioglu is currently on commission writing his debut feature film, an original play for Eleanor Lloyd Productions, and a musical adaptation for Zorlu PSM in Istanbul. His debut play For a Palestinian enjoyed a sell-out 4 week run at the Camden People's Theatre & Bristol Old Vic. His latest play The E.U. Killed My Dad won the Woven Voices Prize and is playing at Jermyn Street Theatre in January 2024.

Lare Oyefusi is a British-Nigerian writer, actor, and creative producer for stage and screen. His debut play Glory, Hellfire was written on the Soho Theatre Writers lab (2022) and his TV pilot St. Diamond won a place on the 2023 All3Media Edinburgh TV Festival New Writers collective. He has worked in development and commissioning for film/TV and is currently developing work across film, tv and theatre. Lare's work seeks to showcase black & unseen perspectives in mainstream, audience-challenging narratives. He studied a BA at Cambridge University before completing diplomas in Creative Writing for performance (Cambridge) and Acting (Central School of Speech and Drama).  

Mwansa Phiri is an award-winning playwright, director and theatre-maker. Her first play, Talking Stages, was written while on Soho Theatre's Writers Lab and was shortlisted for the 2022 Tony Craze Award. She wrote her second play waiting for a train at the bus stop while on London Performance Studios Seeding Space artist residency programme. waiting for a train at the bus stop (VAULT Festival 2023, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023) won the 2023 Eclipse Award and the 2023 Keep It Fringe Award. It was longlisted for the BBC Popcorn Award for New Writing and a finalist in the LET Award and SIT-UP Awards. Mwansa is currently developing a new musical One More Game through artsdepot's PLATFORM artist residency and was selected for the Overture Musicals artist development programme. She is on Stage One's Bridge the Gap Producing Programme, and a BAFTA connect member.

Tanya Shamil is 21 yrs old, from Oman, and an independent filmmaker, artist, and writer. She started her career in the arts by launching an app called “Arabemoji” at the age of 13, that hit the top charts in the Middle East region. Since then, she has had a growing passion for combining stories and visuals. She has exhibited film installations in London, Liverpool, Doha and Muscat. Tanya was named one of the “7 Omani Artists on the Rise” by Oman Magazine, as well as one of the “9 Contemporary Artists who Should be on your Cultural Radar” by the National News. 

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