malakaï sargeant – Literary Associate

malakaï is an artist, educator and producer from pre-gentrified Hackney, London. Led by curiosity and care, malakaï works across theatre, literature and live performance, creating and interrogating through an unapologetically Afroqueer lens.

As a director and dramaturg, malakaï’s work has been staged at venues including the Royal Court, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Guildhall School of Music & Dance and the National Gallery. malakaï has worked extensively with young people in community settings and in higher education; co-creating, devising, scripting and facilitating cross-disciplinary work with organisations including UAL, Mountview, Hackney Empire, Unicorn Theatre, Serpentine Gallery and South London Gallery.

They co-founded and were Artistic Director of producing theatre company The S+K Project between 2014-19 and, since 2019, has been Co-Creative Director of Afrodiasporic literary arts organisation BORN::FREE. Aged 21, malakaï was appointed Associate Director at Theatre Peckham, responsible for cultural programming, nurturing young artists and developing new writing. Alongside working at Talawa, malakaï is a freelance dramaturg, and is a Senior Producer for Poet in the City, connecting people and places through poetry. They are interim Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for Bernie Grant Arts Centre & is a Trustee for London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT).