2026 Emerging Playwright Award Recipient
Lamb by Sepehr Reybod
Lamb is a surrealist drama about diaspora, its cost and the ways it takes. It’s also about liberty and transcending form and place. When Beau, an Iranian-Canadian afflicted by kidney failure, travels to Iran and begins a sordid affair with Hamid, the man he purchases a kidney from, economies, hearts, and futures collide. Raha, Hamid’s pregnant wife, is meanwhile seeking escape, to get rid of the baby that threatens to trap her forever in a life she does not want, all while the country is heating up and breaking apart in political and environmental upheaval. Maybe the answer to Raha’s future is through her own body – the very body the rest of the world is trying to command. How much of ourselves do we need to cut away to make survival possible?
The peer assessment panel said: “An impressive and raw exploration of illness, poverty, repression, and the human desire for connection. The writing stands out for its vivid imagery, dark humour, and sharply crafted, character-driven dialogue.”
Sepehr Reybod is an Iranian-born actor, playwright, and director based in Toronto. Select acting credits include: MAJOR BARBARA, Shaw Festival; ENGLISH, Soulpepper; R+J, WhyNot Theatre & Stratford Festival; RICHARD III, Stratford Festival. Directorial credits include: the 2023 Fringe hit One Night Only, duhdumduhdum productions; Here Lies Henry (Assistant), Factory Theatre; IMMOLATION (Assistant & Text Developer), University of Waterloo. Sepehr holds a BFA Spec. Honours in Acting from York University and is an alum of Factory Theatre’s Training Enhancement Programs The Mechanicals (2018-2019) and Foundry (2019-2020).
Special thanks to Emerging Playwright Award Peer Assessment Panelists: Kacie Hall (Chair), Megan Gail Coles, Marie Leofeli Barlizo.