In Public/In Private

Leyla Josephine is a poet, film and theatre maker originally from Glasgow, now based in Prestwick. In 2014 Leyla won Hammer and Tongue’s UK National Spoken Word Slam Championship at Royal Albert Hall. She was a finalist for the Roundhouse Slam 2017 and runner up for Scottish Poetry Championships 2018. Her theatre shows Hopeless and Daddy Drag have taken the UK by storm with sold out shows across the country. Hopeless was runner up for Saboteur’s Best Spoken Word Show 2018. Daddy Drag won the Autopsy Award 2019 which celebrates artists making groundbreaking work in Scotland and was shortlisted for Filipa Braganca Award 2019, which honours solo female artists creating important work at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A documentation of Hopeless was published by Speculative Books in 2018. Leyla has been featured in The National, The Scotsman, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Upworthy, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4 and Gutter magazine. She was named in The List’s Top 100 Artists To Watch in 2019.

'...she is always magnificent. The ability to stun the audience to tearful silence moments after having them laughing heartily is a skill that is deployed expertly.'- The Wee Review