Tanika Gupta
| Tanika Gupta MBE | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 December 1963 Chiswick, London, England |
| Residence | Kentish Town, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Bengali |
| Education | Modern History |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Occupation | Playwright, Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Known for | Theatre, television |
| Style | Drama, radio drama, screenplay |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Spouse(s) | David Archer (1988–present) |
| Children |
Nandini (daughter) Niharika (daughter) Malini (daughter) |
| Parents |
Tapan Gupta (father) Gairika Gupta (mother) |
| Relatives |
Pritish Gupta (paternal grandfather) Dinesh Chandra Gupta (maternal great uncle) |
Tanika Gupta, MBE (born 1 December 1963) is an English playwright of Bengali descent. Apart from her work for the theatre, she has also written scripts for television and radio plays.
Early life
As a child, Gupta performed Tagore dance dramas with her parents. Her mother Gairika Gupta was an Indian classically trained dancer, and her father Tapan Gupta was a singer. She is also related to the Indian revolutionary Dinesh Gupta, whose brother was Tanika’s grandfather.
Gupta graduated from Oxford University with a Modern History degree. After Oxford, her political commitment found expression in her work for an Asian women’s refuge in Manchester. In 1988, after marriage to literary author David Archer, she and her husband moved to London and Gupta was a community worker in Islington, writing in her spare time.[1]
Career
The Waiting Room (2000) was a career highpoint, enjoyed by blue-rinses as well as by Asian audiences. Gupta is rumoured to be writing a new play for Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s Youth Theatre, The Young REP, to be performed in June 2009. She is currently writing a play for the Young Rep, for a group called ‘Plays and New Writing’.[2] In 2013 her play The Empress, about Abdul Karim (the Munshi) and Queen Victoria opened in Stratford upon Avon.
For the BBC's Grange Hill series, Gupta wrote seven episodes between 1997 and 2000.
Honours
In 2008, Gupta was awarded an MBE, for services to drama.[1][3]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Flight | TV film | Writer |
| Bideshi | Short | ||
| Siren Spirits | TV mini-series | ||
| 1999 | The Fiancée | Short | |
| 2000 | EastEnders | 1 episode: 17 January 2000 | |
| 1997-2000 | Grange Hill | 7 episodes | |
| 2001 | Crossroads | Unknown episodes | |
| The Bill | 1 episode: Complicity (Part 2) | ||
| 2002 | The Lives of Animals | TV film | Screenplay |
| 2006 | Banglatown Banquet |
Plays
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Voices on the Wind |
| 1997 | Skeleton |
| 2000 | The Waiting Room |
| 2002 | Sanctuary |
| Inside Out | |
| 2003 | Hobson's Choice |
| Fragile Land | |
| 2004 | The Country Wife |
| 2006 | Gladiator Games |
| Catch | |
| Sugar Mummies | |
| 2008 | Meet The Mukherjees |
| White Boy |
Awards
- EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award for Best Television Production) (screenplay) "Flight" (1998)
- John Whiting Award "The Waiting Room" (2000)
- Asian Women of Achievement Award (Arts and Culture category) (2003)
- EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award for Best Play) (adaptation) "Hobson's Choice" (2004)
- Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre "Fragile Land"/"Hobson's Choice" (2004)
- Amnesty International UK Media Awards (radio play) "Chitra" (2005)
- Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Birthday Honours (2008)
See also
- Bengali Hindu
- British Bangladeshis
- List of British Bangladeshis
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roy, Amit (15 July 2008). "Hanged Bengali icon’s great-niece bags MBE". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ↑ "Tanika Gupta". British Council Literature. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58729. p. 17. 14 June 2008.
External links
- Tanika Gupta at the Internet Movie Database
- Tanika Gupta - In Yer Face Theatre
- British Council Literature - Tanika Gupta
- 2 Young 2 Luv
- Great Expectations adapted by Tanika Gupta, premieres at Watford Palace Theatre
- 20 Questions With… Tanika Gupta. Whatsonstage 21 January 2008
- Barnett, Laura. Portrait of the artist: Tanika Gupta, playwright. The Guardian. 14 February 2011
- Tanika Gupta. The Asian Writer. 22 June 2011