Adam Karim wins 2024 JMK Award

The winner of this year’s JMK Award is Adam Karim for his production of Guards at the Taj, written by Rajiv Joseph.

Karim said: “Winning this award feels gigantic for me. I’m honoured and humbled to have been selected from a group of artists I know to be wonderful practitioners. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me along my directing pathway, everyone at the Bush, the Donmar Warehouse, Paines Plough, thank you for giving me the opportunities to learn my craft.

“Guards at the Taj is a special play, investigating a stark choice with humour, hope and tenderness, I think it has only become more relevant over time and I couldn’t be more excited to be bringing this to life with a really fantastic creative team. Special thanks to Roisin Jenner who gave up so much of her time designing our project, and of course to James Menzies-Kitchen whose name this wonderful, life-changing opportunity exists to commemorate. See you at the Orange Tree!”

Thanks to the JMK Award, Karim will have the opportunity to stage his own full-scale professional show with designer Jenner. Guards at the Taj will also form part of the 2024 autumn programme at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.

The play explores the themes of friendship, betrayal and power and is set in 1648 in Agra, India, during the construction of the Taj Mahal.

Stephen Fewell, chair of the JMK Trust, commented: “Over the last few years, we’ve become increasingly aware that the array of career pathways for developing artists may be narrowing, so it is wonderful to be able, with enormous support from the Orange Tree Theatre and all those who fund our work, to be announcing Adam as the recipient of the JMK Award. His bold ideas for this challenging and thrilling play will meet audiences this Autumn, and everyone can support his work by booking now!”

Tom Littler, artistic director of the Orange Tree, added: “In a very competitive field of over a hundred and fifty applicants, Adam stood out for his clear-eyed vision for this superb play, and for his abundant ability to work with actors to create something special. We’re excited to produce his Guards at the Taj this autumn.”

Runner-up prizes were also awarded to director Sam Woof and designer Natalie Johnson for their work on Colder than Here, written by Laura Wade.

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