James is a playwright and screenwriter.
Most recently, James’s unproduced play Cello was shortlisted for the 2021 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award. In 2021, his new play Queen Fatima directed by Paige Rattray was produced by Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta as part of the 2021 Sydney Festival and enjoyed a sold-out season. A prominent production company has optioned the play for a feature adaptation which James is writing and it has been nominated the 2022 Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. It was James’s second year at the Sydney Festival; his play Lady Tabouli was also enjoyed a sold-out season in 2020 and was nominated for the 2021 Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. In 2019 Omar and Dawn enjoyed a sell-out season at the Kings Cross Theatre, and James has been granted a place in the 2019-21 Sydney Theatre Company Emerging Writers’ Program. His play Son of Byblos (finalist for the Silver Gull Play Award) will premiere in May as part of Belvoir’s 25a 2022 season.
In 2018 his plays were selected for readings at Kings Cross Theatre’s Storytellers Festival, the Siren Theatre’s Playwriting Festival and the National Playwrighting Festival. James was also selected to take part in the WestWords’ writing residency in Varuna. In 2017, James was selected for two National Theatre of Parramatta programs for emerging artists, ‘Page to Stage’ and ‘Creative Futures’.
James is a humanist writer whose plays critically tackle the values and expectations of Lebanese culture, while also exploring broader issues within Australian society. James’ plays are funny, touching and dramatic and leave you thinking long after you’ve left the theatre.
