R. Jahan

R. Jahan is a multi-hyphenate artist—actor, playwright, and model—known for excavating bold, emotionally charged narratives that center queer identity, racial complexity, and the pursuit of truth in art. A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), Jahan trained in both stage and film performance before expanding into playwriting, where their work merges poetic intensity with deep psychological, magical surrealism. Their latest original play, Baldwin et Lucien, dramatizes the intimate and historically resonant relationship between James Baldwin and Lucien Happersberger in 1950s Switzerland. Bilingual and richly researched, the play has drawn attention for its lyrical dialogue, theatrical ambition, and socio-political depth—leading to staged readings with performers like Noah Pyzik and a growing producer interest for workshop development and Off-Broadway expansion. Jahan’s work has been developed or presented through institutions including National Queer Theater, La MaMa, and the Criminal Queerness Festival at Lincoln Center. Their earlier acting credits include The Importance of Being Earnestly LGBTQ+, The Survival, and regional stagings of Slave Play and Diary of a Suicide at Brooklyn Art Haus. Jahan said, “What I do in this industry is both excavation and elevation. I exhume and exalt the stories of those whose lives reflect my own marginalization—queer people, Black people, those who’ve lived in-between. I believe that when truth is centered in the work, it transcends categories. People always relate to other people. That’s the power of theater.”