Spotlight.
Niall Moorjani
INTRODUCTION
Niall Moorjani is an award winning and critically acclaimed Scottish-Indian, non-binary and neurodiverse writer, storyteller and theatre maker based between Edinburgh and London. They have perfomed all over the world, from Delhi to New York to old York. They create for both children and adults, dealing with themes queerness, anti-colonialism, myth and legend. At the core of all their work is hope, joy and kindness. Their work has been published in multiple places, but most notably with Bloomsbury/ Methuen Drama, ‘Kanpur:1857’ (2025), and Lantana, Rajiv’s Starry Feelings (2023).
INTERVIEW
How did you get into your creative practice? What initially inspired you?
I sort of fell into it, like I had always wanted to be a writer and as a kid I loved doing drama at school but didn’t peruse it at university (partly because brown backgrounds don’t get encouraged into the arts, and partly because I didn’t think I was good enough). But then I got a job as a ghost storyteller at one of the Edinburgh tour companies and absolutely loved it. Telling ghost stories a lot was a real grounding in what makes a story tick and how to tell one, then I started writing my own stuff and that led to storytelling shows, making those better led me to explore theatre and theatricality and I’ve been privileged to have worked with some amazing people who have taught me so much and that’s sort of led me to where I am as someone who writes, kids books, storytelling shows and plays and acts/ directs in them too.
I’ve always been inspired by myth, legend, history and satire, I think you can see that in my work today. Like I adored have I got news for you and mock the week growing up, but was equally obsessed with the Greek myths and Lord of the rings.
What themes do you tend to interrogate in your creative practices?
These days I’m generally driven by what’s going on in the world in terms of queerness or BPoC experience. Like something that has happened or is happening may trip a thought in my mind and it’s like, ok how do I use my lived experience and skills to explore/ interrogate that. This has seen me explore toxic lad culture through retelling of the Green Knight story, or race and non-binary experience through a re-worked Scottish folk tale. I am generally questioning what it means to be me, but at the same time questioning the structures or ideas that make it quite tough for me and my communities at the moment.
What is your favourite project you’ve ever worked on and why?
Wow, a brutal question, my favourite child is. Joking of course but it is genuinely so hard to say, I feel like I’ve learned so much from all of them and always found such joy, even in the ones that haven’t gone smoothly or had tough moments (if anything I’ve learned the most from them). In some ways it’s probably a toss up between my very first show which was literally just me telling stories at the fringe with a couple of pals who happened to play musical instruments , it wasn’t something we were doing to make money or even to sell out shows, we just did it to do it and that was so, so, so joyous, I was a lot less self critical back then and was able to just enjoy shows in a way I’m not as good at anymore. Or it would have to be my most recent show Kanpur: 1857, the process has been so challenging but also in so many ways just natural, I’ve learned so much as an artist and felt so stretched in the best way. I’ve also adored the team I’ve worked with and the show has done really well which is such a lovely bonus.
What advice would you have for creatives of colour looking to get into your creative practices?
Hmm, it’s tricky because I want to say, just be you and don’t let the industry tone you down or push you around. But it’s so tough, because we are such minorities up here the industry isn’t ready for/ there aren’t the audiences for genuinely unfiltered and unapologetic expressions of BPoC experience. But that being said, maybe it’s just good to be aware of that, but still absolutely stay true to yourself, make the work you want to make and don’t be afraid to tackle racism and such in your work, that being said, absolutely don’t feel like you have to only do that, like if you want to write a farce about some silly people that has nothing to do with race and racism you crack on. I reckon it’s harder for us in so many ways, but the people who you do make work for will be so grateful you have and your voice really does matter here.
What are you currently working on?
I’m one of those people who has 2-4 projects on the go at any one time with different stages of development, but the current front runners to become the next shows so to speak are one about the history of Scotland and colonialism where I play William Wallace, and another is about my Dadima and our connection through her food. Not sure which will win the race to become next show, probably the one that gets funding first and there are loads in the pipeline.