The Jewish Literary Foundation’s Jewish Playwrights Programme is a development initiative for emerging playwrights. Its goal is to support the next generation of Jewish voices on stage and champion stories that reflect the richness and diversity of Jewish life in the UK.
Our inaugural cohort saw guidance from award-winning director and writer Daniel Goldman, Olivier-award winner Mark Rosenblatt, director and dramaturg Emma Jude Harris, award-winning writer and director Josh Azouz, playwright and writer Samantha Ellis, and writer for stage and radio Amy Rosenthal.
The 2025/26 programme offered mentorship, industry exposure, and focused script development, with a final showcase performance at London’s longest running literary festival Jewish Book Week 2026, held annually at Kings Place.
The 2025-26 cohort writers were: Stella Green, Rachel Bellman, Sam Thorpe-Spinks, Noga Flaishon, Uri Agnon, and Amitai Landau-Pope.
The programme is made possible by the generous support of the Shoresh Charitable Trust.
Stella is a writer and theatre maker. Her most recent play Book of Alice was shortlisted for the 2024 George Devine Award. Her debut play Ezra was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, and a sold-out reading of her play Nine Avalanches launched the Orange Tree’s new Lunch Plays programme in 2024.
Rachel is a London-based playwright and lyricist who writes across plays and musicals. Her passion is for creating female-led narratives tackling identity and morality while combining drama with a dark comedic edge. Her writing includes Precipice (New Diorama), These Demons (Theatre503, published by Concord Theatricals), Game Theory (REWRITES at The Lowry), and The Dickens Girls (New Wolsey Theatre, BYMT).
Sam is a writer and actor. His debut script The Hoax earned him a place on the 2022 Brit List with fifteen nominations for Best Script. He currently has three television projects in development with Hat Trick Mercurio, Indefinite Films, and Brock Media. His play sex, love and rising sea levels was shortlisted for the 503 International Playwrights prize and Papatango. He is currently adapting The Leather Boys for stage with York Theatre Royal.
Noga Flaishon is a London-based immigrant writer and producer with an MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media. Their writing blends sci-fi, horror, and magical realism to explore contemporary issues and dynamics. Noga’s plays have been recognised by the Papatango Award, the Verity Bargate Award, the International Jewish Play Contest, and the Royal Court, with work staged in the UK and abroad. She was part of the Royal Court’s Intro to Playwriting group and is currently part of the INSPIRE cohort at the Hampstead Theatre.
Uri Agnon is a Jerusalemite writer, composer, and activist, based in London. His work explores the intersection between theatre, music, and political action, and has been performed at venues including the Southbank Centre, Camden People’s Theatre, Kettle’s Yard, Warsaw Ghetto, and at protests and direct actions worldwide.
Amitai Landau-Pope is a playwright and theatre director based between London and New York. Plays include Jeff Has to Come (ECC/Culture Lab, New York); Reliable Recall (Bespoke Festival/NYU); LITTLE EYOLF and wings (Oxford Playhouse). Video game credits include The Golden Key (Coney/City of London). He is represented by Ella Radley at Alan Brodie Representation.