Tanika Gupta
| Tanika Gupta MBE | |
|---|---|
| Native name | হাসিনা মমতাজ |
| Born |
1 December 1963 Chiswick, Hounslow, London, England |
| Residence | Kentish Town, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Modern History |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Known for | Theatre, television |
| Style | Drama, radio drama, screenplay |
| Spouse(s) | David Archer (m. 1988) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) |
Tapan Gupta (father) Gairika Gupta (mother) |
| Relatives |
Pritish Gupta (paternal grandfather) Dinesh Chandra Gupta (maternal great uncle) |
| Website |
www |
Tanika Gupta, MBE (Bengali: হাসিনা মমতাজ; 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.[1]
After attending Mill Hill School[2] in London, 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, she married David Archer an anti-poverty activist and ActionAid’s current Head of Programme Development, whom she met at university. She and her husband then moved to London where 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.[3] In 2013, her play The Empress, about Abdul Karim and Queen Victoria opened in Stratford upon Avon.
For the BBC's Grange Hill series, Gupta wrote seven episodes between 1997 and 2000.
Awards and recognition
In 2008, Gupta was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours for her services to drama.[1][4] In June 2016 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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 Nomination 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)
- BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Adaptation "A Doll's House" (2013)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (2016)
Personal life
Gupta and her husband have three daughters, Nandini (born 1991), Niharika (born 1993) and Malini (born 2000).[1]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Flight | TV film | Writer |
| Bideshi | Short | ||
| Siren Spirits | 1 episode: "Bideshi" | ||
| 1999 | The Fiancée | Short | |
| 2000 | EastEnders | 4 episodes: inc "17 January 2000" | |
| 1997–2000 | Grange Hill | 7 episodes: "20:19", "20:20", "21:15", "22.9", "22:10", "23:5", "23:6" | |
| 2001 | Crossroads | Unknown episodes | |
| The Bill | 1 episode: "Complicity (Part 2)" | ||
| 2002 | The Lives of Animals | TV film | Screenplay |
| 2006 | Banglatown Banquet | ||
| 2010 | Non-Resident | Short | Writer |
Plays
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1995 | "Voices on the Wind" (NT Studio) |
| 1997 | "Skeleton" (Soho) |
| 1997 | "A River Sutra" (NT Studio / 3 Mill Island) |
| 1998 | "On The Couch with Enoch" (BAC) |
| 2000 | "The Waiting Room" (National Theatre) |
| 2002 | "Sanctuary" (National Theatre) |
| "Inside Out" (Arcola) | |
| 2003 | "Hobson's Choice" (Young Vic) |
| "Fragile Land" (Hampstead) | |
| 2004 | "The Country Wife" (Watford) |
| 2006 | "Gladiator Games" (Sheffield Crucible) |
| "Catch" (Royal Court) | |
| "Sugar Mummies" (Royal Court) | |
| 2008 | "Meet The Mukherjees" (Bolton Octagon) |
| "White Boy" (Soho) | |
| 2010 | "Great Expectations" (Watford) |
| 2012 | "Wah Wah Girls" (Saddlers Wells / Peacock Theatre) |
| 2013 | "Love'N'Stuff (Stratford East) |
| 2013 | "The Empress" (RSC) |
| 2015 | "Anita and Me" (Birmingham Rep) |
| 2016 | "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (dramaturg at The Globe) |
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Roy, Amit (15 July 2008). "Hanged Bengali icon's great-niece bags MBE". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ↑ Roberts, Alison (7 August 2007). "London's teenage crisis". London: London Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ↑ "Tanika Gupta". British Council Literature. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ↑ "No. 58729". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2008. p. 17.
External links
- Official website
- Tanika Gupta on IMDb
- 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