Jada (they/them) was born and raised on their mother’s country, Larrakia country (Darwin, NT), and has family ties to the Yanyuwa, Bardi and Wardaman peoples.
As a writer, Jada works across stage and screen. Jada received the Balnaves Indigenous Playwright’s Award in 2013 and the Mona Brand Emerging Playwright’s Award in 2016. In 2014 their debut work BROTHERS WRECK was part of the main stage season at Belvoir to critical acclaim. It received a nomination at the 2014 Sydney Theatre Awards for Best New Australian Work, shortlisted for the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the 2015 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, nominated for Best Stage Play at the 2015 AWGIE Awards and has gone on to be staged throughout Australia.
Jada has worked extensively in theatre as both writer and director with companies such as Belvoir Street Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company, State Theatre company of South Australia, Malthouse Theatre, Browns Mart Theatre and Bell Shakespeare. They are currently on the Board of Directors at Malthouse Theatre.
Jada’s recent credits include: writing, directing, and starring in ARETHA, a concert celebrating Aretha Franklin’s life, with an Australian touring commencing at the Sydney Opera House; directing the acclaimed stage production THE SEVEN STAGES OF GRIEVING for Browns Mart Theatre, co-writing JARRADAH GOORAGULLI DANCE OF THE BROLGAS with Mooradoop Kathy Mills, and as a writer for MYSTERY ROAD ORIGIN series 2 for ABC TV and Bunya Productions which will premiere late 2025.