What is Festival of the Spoken Word?

Festival of the Spoken Word is a month-long festival of Jewish storytelling told live — through theatre, music, poetry, spoken word, staged readings, comedy, conversation, and performance. Presented by Sydney Jewish Writers Festival and created by Shalom Collective, the 2026 festival ran across 16 events throughout August, staged across venues in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and North Shore.

It began with a simple question: what happens when Jewish stories are given more room than a weekend, more forms than a panel discussion, and more stages than a single venue? The answer was Festival of the Spoken Word.

What is Sydney Jewish Writers Festival?

Sydney Jewish Writers Festival celebrates the vibrant world of contemporary Jewish writing from around the globe, bringing together Jewish creatives and authors of Jewish interest — novelists, journalists, screenwriters, performers, and non-fiction writers. Since its first festival in 2006, it has provided a platform for Jewish literature and voices, spotlighting remarkable writers, poets, journalists, intellectuals, and creatives. Past guests have included David Baddiel, Masha Gessen, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Etgar Keret, Deborah Lipstadt, Lily Brett, Howard Jacobson, and many more.

In 2026, Sydney Jewish Writers Festival presented Festival of the Spoken Word — expanding beyond the traditional literary festival format to embrace theatre, music, performance, poetry, and comedy alongside conversation and readings.

What is Shalom Collective?

Shalom Collective creates contemporary Jewish experiences that celebrate culture, deepen identity, and build a thriving community.

Through immersive art, food, festivals, and intergenerational storytelling, we bring people together in joyful, meaningful, and imaginative ways.

Our programs include Sydney Jewish Writers Festival, Adamama, the Jewish Food Festival, and the Australian Jewish Writer Awards. We support initiatives including PJ Library book delivery, SHIR The Australian Music Festival, and Moishe House. Our funding partner is JCA.

Festival of the Spoken Word is one expression of what Shalom Collective does: creating spaces where Jewish stories, artists, and communities come together.

What is a staged reading — and why does it matter?

A staged reading is a form of theatre in which actors perform a script with scripts in hand, without full staging, sets, or costumes. The focus stays entirely on the writing and the performances.

For a playwright, a staged reading is often the first real test of whether a work lives on its feet — the moment a story that existed only on the page is finally heard in a room with an audience. For that audience, it is a rare opportunity to encounter a story at the moment of its becoming.

Theatre moves through stages of development: from early workshop, to staged reading, to rehearsed reading, to full production. A staged reading sits early in that process — which means audiences who attend one are often among the very first to hear a work that may one day reach a mainstage.

Festival of the Spoken Word made staged readings central to its program, creating space for Jewish playwrights and directors to develop new work in front of an audience. In 2026, that included Wake by Ron Elisha directed by Suzanne Heywood, Dear Jessy, Dear Miriam by Jessica Chapnik Kahn and Miriam Hechtman, and the double bill The Border | Sacrifice.

What kinds of events were at Festival of the Spoken Word 2026?

The 2026 program spanned:

• Musical theatre and semi-staged performance — One of a Kind, Groyse Tsores
• Staged readings — Wake, Dear Jessy, Dear Miriam, The Border | Sacrifice
• Music, Poetry and Performance — Voices of the Tribe, Who By Water, On Having Been Here, Fugitive, Hineinu: Songs for This Time, Out of the Depths
• Comedy and storytelling — You Were Great in Shule!, A Jewish Guide to Surviving History
• Conversation — Bring Us Home from Sorrow
• Awards — The Shalom Collective Australian Jewish Writer Awards

Sixteen events. Four weeks. English, Hebrew, Arabic, and Yiddish. Across Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and North Shore.

Who performed at Festival of the Spoken Word 2026?

The 2026 program brought together established and emerging Jewish Australian creators alongside international guests. Performers, writers, and creators included Simon Tedeschi AM, Ayelet Tsabari, Yishay Ishi Ron, Alexis Fishman, Ron Elisha, Suzanne Heywood, Anita Lester, Nadav Kahn, Joanne Fedler, Tami Sussman, Kate Lewis, Rayni Bonne, Jessica Chapnik Kahn, Miriam Hechtman, Galit Klas, and many more.

The Australian Jewish Writer Awards evening featured a conversation between international authors Ayelet Tsabari and Yishay Ishi Ron, hosted by Michaela Kalowski.

When and where was Festival of the Spoken Word 2026?

Festival of the Spoken Word ran from 2 to 30 August 2026, across venues in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and North Shore.

What is the relationship between Festival of the Spoken Word, Sydney Jewish Writers Festival, and Shalom Collective?

Shalom Collective creates contemporary Jewish experiences that celebrate culture, deepen identity, and build a thriving community. Through immersive art, food, festivals, and intergenerational storytelling, we bring people together in joyful, meaningful, and imaginative ways.

Our programs include Sydney Jewish Writers Festival, Adamama, the Jewish Food Festival, and the Australian Jewish Writer Awards. Our funding partner is JCA.

In 2026, Sydney Jewish Writers Festival presented Festival of the Spoken Word — a month-long festival of Jewish storytelling told live, through theatre, music, poetry, spoken word, staged readings, comedy, conversation, and performance.