Layla Madanat is a Director, Dramaturg, Producer & Researcher
Creating theatre, film and interdisciplinary work that champions courageous stories, global perspectives, and explores the world we are building together.
Image: Jesus Christ Superstar (Bird Conservatoire, 2026). Credit: Dom Le Brun
Currently:
Director - The Jolly Fisherman (Underbelly, Edinburgh)
★★★★★ BroadwayWorld: “Under Layla Madanat’s fluid, instinctual direction, the staging captures this delicate balance with immense restraint, avoiding heavy-handed plot mechanics or cheap moralizing.”
★★★★★ The Recs
★★★★★ UK Theatre Web
★★★★★ A Youngish Perspective: “Claustrophobic staging, evocative acting, and an authentic-feeling script unite for a powerful piece of theatre.”
★★★★★ Theatre Now Australia: “The simplicity of the production allows the writing and acting to do the heavy lifting, and Layla Madanat’s outstanding and elegant direction keeps the pace moving while giving the emotional shifts room to land.”
★★★★ The Guardian: “Layla Madanat’s lively production… is subtle enough to understand the social importance of gathering places and the threat to community cohesion when they are lost.”
★★★★ The List: “The Jolly Fisherman doesn’t miss a beat in execution and pulls at every heartstring along the way.”
★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★ The Stage: “Layla Madanat directs assuredly”
★★★★ West End Best Friend: “The staging is dynamic and masterful”,
★★★★ What’s On Stage: “Layla Madanat steers the production with slick, conversational precision, ensuring the script side-steps clichéd issue-play tropes.”
★★★★ North West End
★★★★ Quintessential Review: “Thanks to great chemistry between the leads, and assured direction by Layla Madanat, their journey is both believable and incredibly enjoyable.”
Director - Exercises on a Possible Return (Collective Ma’louba)
SHIFT Associate for Tamasha Theatre
Layla is a script reader for Soho Theatre’s Verity Bargate award.
Also developing a new theatrical work for children as part of Polka Theatre “Next Steps”