ABOUT ME

Laila Latifa is a London-based playwright and theatre-maker of Moroccan, English, and Irish heritage. Her work is rooted in identity, community and resistance, centring the stories of mixed-heritage and working-class lives that are often overlooked.

Blending sharp wit with emotional depth, Laila’s plays draw on folklore, feminism and the layered experience of living between cultures. She’s especially interested in reclaiming and reimagining narratives that have been distorted,  giving space to those who’ve been misrepresented or unheard.

Her play Rah (★★★★★) was longlisted for the RSC’s 37 Plays and later shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award. Cally was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, and its stage directions were published in Arab Stages. In 2024, She was invited to spend a month in Cairo with D-CAFe  a collaboration between the British Council and Orient Productions — and was later awarded a DYCP grant to develop her writing, including the project Whispers of Tradition, which explores Irish and Moroccan folktales through a feminist lens.

Alongside writing, Laila often directs and produces her own work, with a focus on accessibility and anti-gatekeeping. She runs workshops for emerging artists from underrepresented backgrounds, creating space for working-class voices on and off stage.

For Laila, storytelling isn’t just creative ,  it’s a way of opening doors that aren’t always meant to be opened.