Collective Authorship
A new writing programme
Isabella Leung, Soria Hamidi, and Zakiyyah Deen are the three Global Majority Writers who worked together to collectively write Hotel Britannia, a new play on the theme “Reversals”, based on the TV Writers’ Room method.
About the Programme
BÉZNA Theatre launched our first Theatre Writers' Room, and we identified three emerging playwrights from the Global Majority through a callout to take part in an exciting new programme focused on collective authorship for a politically charged piece of theatre on the theme of “Reversals”.
This project is based on the belief that the collective, the community, holds a wealth of knowledge. When individuals with diverse experiences, skills, and perspectives come together, they can produce exceptionally rich work. When solidarity unites artists around a common cause, extraordinary creations can emerge. This is a pilot programme designed to test that theory.
The selected playwrights have had the opportunity to co-author a play with full authorship shared amongst all writers. The project aims to create a unique piece of political theatre that explores the theme of Reversals, reflecting on complex social and political issues through the voices of diverse emerging writers.
Each writer has been paired with an industry mentor, receiving bespoke mentorship and peer-led support: Isabella Leung with mentor Joel Tan; Zakiyyah Deen with mentor Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini; and Soria Hamidi with mentor Sami Ibrahim.
This collaborative programme was led by an experienced facilitator, where the three writers worked together in a writers' room environment, engaging in an intensive creative process. The final work, Hotel Britannia, will be presented in a professional rehearsed reading at the Riverside Studios on March 10th, at 19.00, directed by an industry-recognised theatre director.
As part of the programme, we arranged for the writers to see theatre shows for free - many thanks to the Young Vic Theatre for their in-kind support!
Building on the learning from this strand, we will extend the project to the local community in Lambeth, where residents will co-create a new play that will be showcased in a professional public reading within the borough.
Meet the Writers:
ISABELLA LEUNG
Isabella is a playwright and theatre-maker from Hong Kong, trained at L'école Philippe Gaulier. Her debut play, A BOUFFON PLAY ABOUT HONG KONG, finalist of The Women's Prize for Playwriting ‘21, was presented at PUSH festival at HOME theatre Manchester. She was nominated by the public as a finalist for Manchester Culture Awards Independent Creative of the Year ‘23, and has been a cohort for Criterion Theatre New Writing '24. She takes pride in telling wild and bold stories from the perspective of the outcast, taking political risks with an unhinged sense of humour.
SORIA HAMIDI
Soria is writer/director based in London. She was selected for the Kiln Theatre Young Writers Programme, the Vineyard Theatre Literary Programme and Kali Theatre Workshops. She also completed the London Library Emerging Writers Programme. Her play, A Burst of Light, was shortlisted and commended by the Woven Voices Prize for Playwriting 2025.
ZAKIYYAH DEEN
Zakiyyah is a London-born actor and writer with Afro-Caribbean roots. Her work is playful yet provocative, exploring the intersections of identity, emotion and the politics of the everyday. Her debut play “WHY A BLACK WOMAN WILL NEVER BE PRIME MINISTER” sold out its critically acclaimed run at Camden People’s Theatre and was shortlisted for the Mustapha Matura Award. On screen, she has worked with Steve McQueen, BBC Three and led a Netflix supported short film. In 2025, she was one of four writers selected from over six hundred applicants for the NFTS x Left Bank Pictures Diverse Writers Development Programme. She now has a few original projects in development.
About Hotel Britannia:
Who doesn’t love a whodunnit — the thrill of the chase, the catching of a murderer, the final explanation, when everything clicks into place? But what happens when accountability is harder to pin down?
Step inside Hotel Britannia, a migrant hotel shaken by an inexplicable death, as an investigation unfolds behind closed doors. Who is responsible, and who will pay?
Rehearsed reading directed by Nastazja Domaradzka
Cast: Kudzanayi Chiwawa, Yinka Awoni, Eugenia Low, Rowena Bentley, Abdelaziz Sanusi
10 March 2026, 19.00, Riverside Studios London
Photographer Dario Ciancolini; Videographer Adrienne MacKenzie.
Facilitator
Sînziana Cojocărescu is a London-based Romanian playwright, screenwriter, director and dramaturg who has written and directed for the theatre in both the UK and Romania.
She took part in the Transylvania International Film Festival’s Full Moon Creative Lab (2023–2024), where her writers’ room won the Further Development Award for the TV series ICU: Immortal Care Unit. Her debut TV series The Rising won the Sitges Film Festival 2021 Online Pitchbox Award and is in development with an LA-based producer.
Sînziana’s experience bridges political theatre, dramaturgy, mentorship, and television, and she will bring this combined expertise to the Writers’ Room — fostering collaboration, care, and political relevance through a trauma-informed, inclusive approach.
Funded by Arts Council England.
Many thanks to British Arab Writers Group, Metroland Cultures, Riverside Studios, Bertha Foundation, and the Young Vic Theatre.