Today we announce the writers selected for our highly anticipated NOVA programme, a groundbreaking initiative championing South Asian playwrights and voices.

Following an extensive shortlisting process, three writers were chosen to develop their original scripts and will receive a commission worth £1,500, mentoring and dramaturgical support, culminating in a final performance of their work at Tara Theatre.

The selected playwrights are Carina Chatlani, Jaspreet Kaur and Usaamah Hussain.

Carina Chatlani:

Carina Chatlani is a writer raised in Shanghai and Hong Kong, now based in London. Her artistic practice is rooted in questioning and understanding culture beyond borders, demonstrated by her play Saree Stories (Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2025), which reflected upon the legacy sarees have across generations and geography. Carina has also received a seed commission from the Kiln Theatre to develop her play The Cantonese Club, and a commission from the Gate Theatre for a short play titled Instant Noodles.

Jaspreet Kaur:

Jaspreet Kaur is an award-winning author, poet, performer and lecturer based in London. Her work is shaped by the South Asian British experience and by a fascination with what we inherit from family, culture and the generations before us. Best known for Brown Girl Like Me, she brings poetry and performance together to tell intimate stories that often open into bigger questions about power, belonging and change.

Usaamah Hussain:

Usaamah Hussain is an actor/writer from Nottingham. He graduated from LAMDA in 2023 and has since worked in television and theatre. He’s interested in writing stories that allow people to exist in spaces they aren’t usually given the opportunity to exist in. He also simply enjoys using writing as a tool to magnify and attempt to untangle some of the knotty stuff inside himself.

Our Associate Director Gavin Joseph comments:

“This year we wanted to lean into the future and invite writers to place themselves in new realities. The community came through and we received a wealth of captivating pitches all centred around futurism. We wanted you to think big and bold and expand the south Asian canon in new ways, and you did so with relish. We’ve got three commissions that we are super excited about and that place South Asian storytelling in a new and exciting frontier. The future is looking bright.”

NOVA showcases will take place in spring 2027 as part of Tara Theatre’s 50th year.