C R E A T I V E
Writer | Director
Stage & Screen
Aliyah is a Black and queer multidisciplinary artist working on unceded Gadigal and Wangal land. They tell stories where the personal meets political through horror and humour.
Aliyah’s debut play SNAKEFACE—a modern Medusa retelling—was the runner-up for the Australian Theatre Festival NYC’s New Play Award in 2024, before premiering at Belvoir Downstairs to five stars from the Sydney Morning Herald.
As an inaugural Create Space resident artist, Aliyah is currently developing their next live performance work with Sydney Opera House and Performance Space. Martyrpiece*, originally developed and presented through Performance Space’s Stephen Cummins Residency as THE DOG HOUSE, is a an interrogation of intimacy and grief in the age of AI. Aliyah is also a resident artist with Sydney Theatre Company, where they are a member of the Watershed Writers group.
For stage, Aliyah has also presented work with ATYP, National Theatre of Parramatta, and the Hayes Theatre.
Aliyah’s queer horror short Consume, currently in its festival run, has earned them a nomination for Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year at the Byron Bay International Film Festival. Consume has also been programmed at the Art Gallery of NSW for Sydney Mardi Gras, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Fantastic Film Festival Australia, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, GAZE LGBTQIA Film Festival and more. The Swell, a folk horror short currently in development, won Aliyah the Screen Australia Gender Matters Taskforce Professional Development Prize at the Queer Screen Pitch Off in 2024.
Further to this, Aliyah was selected for Sydney Film Festival x For Film’s Sake’s Platform: Lab incubator in 2024, where they developed a body horror feature.
For screen, Aliyah is currently developing a queer paranormal body horror feature, and a supernatural comedy series. Aliyah is also a seasoned note-taker, a literary editor, and a graduate of AFTRS.