Jessica Hagan is a Ghanaian-British spoken word artist, playwright and screenwriter. She heavily explores themes of identity, displacement and misogynoir in her work, drawing on her experiences as both a Diasporan and a Black Woman.
Her debut play QUEENS OF SHEBA, produced by Nouveau Riche, won the Untapped Award, The Stage Award and an Off West End Award following a 10-city sold out National UK Tour in 2019. In January 2023, the play had a two-week run at The Public Theater, New York City.
Jessica was selected for the AuthenticA Series Lab 2022, and completed 6-month residency in Geneva, Cape Town and France, where she pitched an original show at Series Mania. Her series, COUP, is currently in development. She is also a recipient of the Writers Guild National Play Commission Scheme 2022.
With Jerwood’s support, Brenda’s Got A Baby will premiere at New Diorama Theatre in Autumn 2023. The show is co-produced by New Diorama Theatre, Soho Theatre and Nouveau Riche.
When asked what she was looking forward to about her Jerwood New Work Fund project, Jessica said,
As an early-career Black Woman artist, I have too often felt pressured to create work that requires me to revisit harrowing past traumas in order to satisfy the expectations of mainstream audiences. This project has given me the opportunity to develop a genuinely riotous and ridiculous play, which still tackles an important and urgent subject. I’m really looking forward to premiering this fast-paced, messy and fun comedy and I hope it’ll be a great source of education and entertainment, especially for Black Women audiences.
