Rachel De-lahay

Rachel De-lahay (born 1983 or 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter from Birmingham. She was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for service to Drama in the 2023 New Year Honours.

Early life and education De-lahay was born in Handsworth, Birmingham. She identifies as mixed race and brown and does not describe herself as "Black".

De-lahay was a pupil at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls. As a child, she attended Stage2 Youth Theatre Company She later studied acting at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

Career

Theatre Originally an actress, De-lahay has credited the Unheard Voices scheme at Royal Court Theatre as her first stab at writing. She went on to also win Writers' Guild Award for Best Theatre Play with The Westbridge. The play was premiered at the Birmingham Repertory in 2014, followed by a run at Tricycle theatre (now Kiln Theatre) and a tour of local theatres in the West Midlands.

Radio and Television De-lahay was selected for the BBC's Writersroom 10 development scheme in 2011/12, in a partnership with Bush Theatre. She has since got her works broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4.

My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid) My White Best Friend is a short play that De-lahay wrote in 2017. Its premise has since inspired three festivals (one of which took place virtually) curated by De-lahay herself, as well as performances and writings by other theatre makers.

My White Best Friend (2017) De-lahay first wrote the monologue My White Best Friend for Bush Theatre's Black Lives, Black Words Festival, taking place from 23 to 25 March 2017. A central theme of the piece is microaggression and the White best friend's failure to challenge it in support of the letter's author.

Bunker Theatre festivals (2019) The monologue was performed again in 2019, this time alongside letters from 11 other writers in a week-long festival (18-23 March) at The Bunker Theatre. The festival, titled My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid) was co-curated by De-lahay and director Milli Bhatia. The writers who contributed letters to the festival were: Zia Ahmed, Travis Alabanza, Fatimah Ashgar, Nathan Bryon, Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini, Jammz, Iman Qureshi, Anya Reiss, Nina Segal and Tolani Shoneye. Each night of the festival featured a different selection of letters performed by a rotation of 13 cast members. Following the premise of De-lahay's original monologue, the performers read the letters live for the first time without having seen or rehearsed the materials. The festival was positively reviewed, noted for its engaging and provocative nature, as well as the creative use of the theatre space, resembling a party or a club night. A second run of the festival took place at the same venue, and with the same premise, from 25 to 30 November 2019. This time, the selection of letters were written by Ash Sarkar, Nikesh Shukla, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Lena Dunham, Inua Ellams, Rabiah Hussain, Mika Onyx Johnson, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Shireen Mula, Joel Tan, Jack Thorne, and Emma Dennis-Edwards.

The 23 letters performed at The Bunker in 2019 was compiled by De-lahay into an anthology, published by Oberon Books in 2020.

Online festival (2020) My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid) was recommissioned by Royal Court Theatre for online performances in 2020. De-lahay and Bhatia returned as co-curators and worked with 10 new writers: Amma Asante, Elliot Barnes-Worrel, Ryan Calais Cameron, Clint Dyer, Afua Hirsch, Yasmin Joseph, Tife Kusoro, Lettie Precious, Campbell X, and Rachael Young. The online festival ran between 13 and 17 July, each night featuring 2 new letters in addition to a recording of De-lahay's original piece performed by Ines De Clercq at the beginning. +2020 Cast Letter's authorReaderAmma AsanteRosamund PikeElliot Barnes-WorrellAlex LawtherAfua HirschAnne-Marie DuffYasmin JosephPaapa EssieduCampbell XMartina LairdRachael YoungAdelayo AdedayoTife KusoroDanielle VitalisClint DyerNeil MaskellRyan Calais CameronLucian MsamatiLettie PreciousSinead Matthews

My White Best Friend - North De-lahay's monologue and festivals inspired a series of festivals in the North of England in 2021 - a collaboration between Eclipse Theatre in Leeds, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, as well as Playhouse Theatre and Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. The commissioned monologues were edited into an anthology, titled "My White Best Friend - North", published by Methuen Drama in 2023.

Works Plays

Television

Radio

Published playtexts and books

Awards and nominations