James Elazzi

James Elazzi is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and director whose bold, emotionally resonant work amplifies marginalised voices and brings culturally specific stories to the stage and screen.

In 2026, James was a finalist for the Martin Lysicrates Prize and the Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize, and received the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award. His work has also received three consecutive NSW Premier’s Literary Award nominations for Lady Tabouli (2021), Queen Fatima (2022) and Son of Byblos (2023), as well as the ANZ Tomorrow Makers Award and the 2024 Panavision Award.

James is a published playwright, with four of his works published by leading Australian theatre publishers Currency Press and Playlab Australia. His plays have been produced by Belvoir, Griffin Theatre Company, New Theatre, Sydney Festival and Qtopia, and presented nationally and internationally.

His stage work includes Lady Tabouli, Queen Fatima, Son of Byblos, Karim and Saints of Damour. His writing explores Lebanese Australian migration, family, community and belonging, often bringing humour, warmth and cultural specificity to stories about people who are rarely centred.

Alongside his theatre work, James is expanding his practice into feature filmmaking. In 2026–27, he is screenwriting 2 Moons, an original feature film, while developing Love is a Doily, an original feature film which he is writing, producing and directing for 2027.

James is committed to creating work that brings culturally specific and marginalised stories into the mainstream without losing the specificity, humour and lived experience that make those stories distinctive.