Jacob Kay

Jacob Kay (he/him) is a regional, neurodiverse writer, actor and theatre maker based in London. As a playwright, his first play Glass was shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2019 and longlisted for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 37 Plays project in 2023. After developing the work in conjunction with the Royal Exchange and LAMDA, Jacob was awarded an Arts Council England grant to R&D the play with further support from Derby Theatre and the Lincoln Arts Centre. Other plays include Highrise (The Space, 2023) and Cattle (Barons Court Theatre, 2024). In 2025, Jacob’s rural horror play Slit was shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize, he wrote the digital theatre piece PROPHETS: {{INSERT SUBTITLE TEXT HERE}} in collaboration with Nottingham-based theatre company Chronic Insanity and a section of his new full-length play sorrow. was performed at the Neville Studio, Nottingham Playhouse in collaboration with Fifth Word. Writers’ Groups include: Fifth Word Playwrights (2024-2025), Pentabus Young Writers National (2023-2024) and Nottingham Playhouse’s Playwright’s Playground Programme (2021). He has also worked with Squint Theatre (Squint Playwriting Award Shortlist, 2023) and In Good Company (Take Off, 2020). Currently, Jacob is developing his next full-length play, and a production of his Bruntwood-shortlisted play Glass will be embarking on a pilot tour in Spring 2027.

As a screenwriter, Jacob’s work has been selected to screen at film festivals such as Birmingham Film Festival and the Midlands Movie Awards. In 2019, his short film script Cyfuno was selected to be developed as part of the It’s My Shout Talent Development Scheme ran by BBC Cymru. In 2024, Jacob wrote, directed and produced three connected horror micro-shorts in conjunction with Pentabus and Rural Media titled SHE, THEM and IT which were released on the social media channels TikTok and Instagram. In 2025, he wrote and co-produced the dark comedy short film Smile, Smile, Smile!, which was shortlisted for the Lit Laughs International Comedy Film Festival. Currently, Jacob has been commissioned to develop a TV series based on the work of a bestselling author.