Tanika Gupta
Encyclopedia
Tanika Gupta, MBE
(born 1 December 1963) is a British
playwright
of Bengali
origin. Apart from her work for the theatre
, she has also written scripts for television
.
dance dramas with her parents’. Her mother was an Indian classically trained dancer and her father a singer. She is also related to the Indian revolutionary Dinesh Gupta
, whose brother was Tanika's grandfather.
She went to Oxford University and read modern history. After Oxford, her political commitment found expression in her work for an Asian women's refuge in Manchester
. After marriage in 1988, the couple moved to London
and Gupta was a community worker in Islington
, writing in her spare time.
. In 2000 The Waiting Room 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 definitely writing a play for the Young Rep, for a group called 'Plays and New Writing' (which is one of the groups at the young REP).
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 1 December 1963) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
of Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
origin. Apart from her work for the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, she has also written scripts for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Background and education
As a child, Gupta performed TagoreRabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
dance dramas with her parents’. Her mother was an Indian classically trained dancer and her father a singer. She is also related to the Indian revolutionary Dinesh Gupta
Dinesh Gupta
Dinesh Chandra Gupta or Dinesh Gupta was a Bengali revolutionary who fought against British colonial rule.-Early activities:...
, whose brother was Tanika's grandfather.
She went to Oxford University and read modern history. After Oxford, her political commitment found expression in her work for an Asian women's refuge in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. After marriage in 1988, the couple moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Gupta was a community worker in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, writing in her spare time.
Writing career
The BBC asked her to write for Grange HillGrange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
. In 2000 The Waiting Room 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
Birmingham Youth Theatre
The Birmingham Youth Theatre was founded in 1971 in Birmingham, England by local teachers Derek Nicholls and Ray Speakman, and was based at the Midlands Arts Centre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre...
, The Young REP, to be performed in June 2009. She is definitely writing a play for the Young Rep, for a group called 'Plays and New Writing' (which is one of the groups at the young REP).
Honours
Gupta was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.Filmography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Flight (TV movie) |
| 1995 | Bideshi (short) |
| 1995 | Siren Spirits (TV mini-series) |
| 1995 | The Fiancée (short) |
| 1997-2000 | Grange Hill Grange Hill Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television... (TV series) [7 episodes] |
| 2001 | Crossroads (TV series) |
| 2001 | The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work... (TV series) [Complicity: Part 2] |
| 2002 | The Lives of Animals (TV movie) (screenplay) |
| 2006 | Banglatown Banquet (TV movie) (screenplay) |
Plays
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Voices on the Wind |
| 1997 | Skeleton |
| 2000 | The Waiting Room |
| 2002 | Sanctuary |
| 2002 | Inside Out |
| 2003 | Hobson's Choice |
| 2003 | Fragile Land |
| 2004 | The Country Wife |
| 2006 | Gladiator Games |
| 2006 | Catch |
| 2006 | Sugar Mummies |
| 2008 | Meet The Mukherjees |
| 2008 | White Boy |
Awards
- EMMAEMMAEMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
(BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award for Best Television Production) (screenplay) "Flight" (1998) - John Whiting AwardJohn Whiting AwardThe John Whiting Award is awarded annually to a British or Commonwealth playwright who, in the opinion of a consortium of UK theatres, shows a new and distinctive development in dramatic writing with particular relevance to contemporary society...
"The Waiting Room" (2000) - Asian Women of Achievement Award (Arts and Culture category) (2003)
- EMMAEMMAEMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
(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 AwardsAmnesty International UK Media AwardsThe Amnesty International Media Awards are a set of awards for human rights journalism awarded annually by the UK section of Amnesty International...
(radio play) "Chitra" (2005) - Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Birthday Honours (2008)