Layla Madanat

Director Dramaturg Documentary Artist Producer

Layla (She/Her) is a Jordanian-Palestinian theatre-maker based in London, whose practice brings together her experience across the arts and social justice sectors.

Layla was the 2021/22 Peter Hall Emerging Artist Fellow at the Rose Theatre Kingston, and her documentary film and XR work has been selected for both the BFI London Film Festival and Sheffield Doc Fest. She continues to work with new writers to tell marginalised stories and use inter-disciplinary art to spark bold discussions.

In 2021 Layla was Assistant Producer and Associate to Artistic Director of Good Chance's international touring puppetry production "The Walk".

Layla was shortlisted for the 2021 Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund in the Directing/Theatre-Making Category. She has also had work shortlisted for Underbelly Untapped, VAULT Origins Award, and the VAULT and Stagedoor People's Choice Award.

She holds a Masters in Gender, Development and Globalisation from the LSE, and has also been part of Paines Plough’s “Re:Assemble” dramaturgy cohort, The Orange Tree Theatre’s Young Company, Shubbak Festival’s Young Associates, and Sour Lemons’ “Making Lemonade” programme for emerging cultural leaders. Layla is on the 2022/23 cohort of Bridge the Gap with Stage One for emerging commercial producers.

Credits

As Producer:
My Brother's Keeper (Theatre503), Bayti Baytek (Shubbak Festival), A New Dawn (King's Head/Union Theatre)

As Associate Director and Puppetry Director:
Caucasian Chalk Circle, Rose Theatre (dir. Christopher Haydon)

As Assistant Director:
The Empress, The Swan Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company (dir. Pooja Ghai)
Hakawatis, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe (dir. Pooja Ghai)
Persuasion, Rose Theatre (dir. Jeff James)
7 Pomegranate Seeds, Rose Theatre Kingston (dir. Melly Still)

As Director:
Chestnut (Screenshot), Made at Home (Tamasha Virtual Scratch Night), She is a Place Called Home (VAULT Festival), A New Dawn (The King's Head/Union Theatre), Colour is Too Sweet (The King's Head), Half/نص (Tristan Bates/Old Red Lion), Noura (Rich Mix), Into the Deep (Etcetera Theatre/LEAF Manchester/The Room Above Bristol)

As Dramaturg:
Delicious Fruit (Plaster Cast Theatre), Period Parrty (writer Gayathiri Kamalakanthan), Wanton ( Melissa Wilson), Generation Game (Olly Kendall), A New Dawn (Olly Kendall), Something Just Like This (Olly Kendall), Finding Him (Olly Kendall)

As Co-Writer:
Things We Do Not Know (Camden People's Theatre/Tramshed/ArtSpace LifeSpace Bristol/NSDF Leicester Curve/The People's Republic of Stokes Croft/Old Crown Courts Bristol), A Christmas Night (The Room Above Bristol), Alice in Wonderland (The Wickham Theatre)

Training

Stage One Bridge the Gap
Paines Plough Re:Assemble Dramaturgy Collective
Bristol Old Vic Directing Scheme with Lee Lyford and Bristol Dramsoc

Location

London

Experience

2-5 years

Art forms / Disciplines

  • AR / VR
  • Film - documentary
  • Film - short
  • Live art
  • Multi-disciplinary / cross art form
  • Music
  • New technologies / digital
  • Opera
  • Radio/Audio
  • Theatre / Live perfomance
  • Visual arts

What I do

  • Curating
  • Devising
  • Directing
  • Dramaturgy
  • Facilitating
  • Languages
  • Movement Direction
  • Music - Can Read
  • Music - Plays Instruments
  • Music - Singing
  • Outdoor performance
  • Performance Art
  • Performing
  • Physical Theatre / Mime
  • Producing
  • Puppetry
  • Site Responsive/Immersive
  • Teaching / Coaching
  • Theatre making
  • Verbatim theatre
  • Working with young people
  • Working with young people with special educational needs
  • Working within a Community / with community participants
  • Workshopping & Development
  • Writing

Additional Languages

Arabic (Native), French (Conversational)

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