Tanika Gupta MBE FRSL (born 1 December 1963) is a British playwright. Apart from her work for the theatre, she has also written scripts for television, film and radio plays.
Tanika Gupta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 December 1963 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Modern history |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Occupation(s) | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Known for | Theatre, television |
| Style | Drama, radio drama, screenplay |
| Spouse |
David Archer (m. 1988) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Dinesh Chandra Gupta (maternal great uncle) |
| Website | tanikagupta |
Early life
editTanika Gupta was born in London to immigrant parents from Kolkata, India,[1] where her family had their origins.[2] 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. The Indian revolutionary Dinesh Gupta was her great uncle.[3]
After attending Copthall Comprehensive School in London and then Mill Hill School for her A levels,[4] 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 Tax Justice and Public Services, whom she met at university. She and her husband then moved to London where Gupta was initially a community worker in Islington, writing in her spare time.[3]
Career
editOver the past 25 years Tanika has written over 25 stage plays that have been produced in major theatres across the UK. She has also written 30 radio plays for the BBC and several original television dramas, as well as scripts for EastEnders, Grange Hill and The Bill. The Waiting Room (produced for the National Theatre in 2000) was an early career highpoint with Indian film star Shabana Azmi performing on the stage in London for the first time.[5][6][7]
Gupta's 2013 play The Empress, about Abdul Karim and Queen Victoria opened in Stratford upon Avon and is now on the GCSE curriculum along with her adaptation of Ibsen's A Doll's House, which was first performed at Hammersmith Lyric in 2018.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish praised The Empress, saying: "This fascinating new theatre production has got 'make this into a movie' written all over it."[11]
Her play Lions and Tigers performed at the Sam Wannamaker in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre tells the remarkable story set in the 1930s of her great uncle, Dinesh Gupta, an Indian freedom fighter. Lions and Tigers is now published in Methuen's series of Modern Classics.[17][18][19] Praise for Lions and Tigers singled out the "intimate storytelling, where Gupta's writing is at its most playful and potent" for particular note.[19] Other notable plays include Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre 2006);[7] Gladiator Games (Sheffield Crucible Theatre 2006);[20][21] Hobson's Choice (Young Vic 2001 and Manchester Royal Exchange 2018).[22][23][24][25] Her most recent productions are Mirror on the Moor (Royal Court Living Newspaper, April 2021), and The Overseas Student (Hammersmith Lyric, June 2021).[26][27][28][29]
Personal life
editGupta and her husband have two daughters, Nandini (born 1991), Niharika (born 1993), and a son Malini (born 2000).[3]
Works
editTheatre plays
edit| 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) |
| 2017 | Lions and Tigers (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London) |
| A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Hull Truck) | |
| 2018 | Hobsons's Choice (Royal Exchange) |
| 2019 | A Doll's House (Lyric Hammersmith, London) |
| Red Dust Road (National Theatre Scotland/Edinburgh International Festival) | |
| Hobson's Choice (Manchester Royal Exchange) | |
| Bones (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) | |
| 2021 | Mirror on the Moor (Royal Court, London) |
| 2021 | The Overseas Student (Lyric Hammersmith, London) |
Radio plays
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Asha (BBC Radio 4) |
| 1994 | Badal and his Bike (BBC Radio 5) |
| Kiss Me Quick (BBC Radio 5) | |
| 1996 | Pankhiraj (BBC Radio 4) |
| 1997 | Ananda Sananda (BBC Radio 4) |
| Kiss Me Quick (BBC Radio 5) | |
| The Bounty Hunter (BBC Radio 4) | |
| Skeleton (BBC Radio 4) | |
| 1998 | Voices On The Wind (BBC World Service) |
| Red Oleanders (BBC Radio 3) | |
| Westway (BBC World Service) | |
| 1999 | Muse of Fusion (BBC Radio 4) |
| Coat (BBC Radio 4) | |
| Waistland (BBC Radio 4) | |
| The Queen's Retreat (BBC Radio 4) | |
| 2000 | The Eternal Bubble (BBC World Service) |
| The Secret (BBC Radio 4) | |
| The Book of Secrets (BBC Radio 4) | |
| 2001 | Betrayal: The Trial of William Davidson (BBC) |
| Stowaway (BBC) | |
| 2002 | A Second Chance (BBC Radio 3) |
| 2003 | The Parting (BBC Radio 4) |
| 2004 | The God of Small Things (BBC Radio 4) |
| 2005 | Chitra (BBC Radio 4) |
| 2008 | Rudolpho's Zest (BBC Radio 3) |
| Silver Street (BBC Asian Network) | |
| 2010 | Rescue Me (BBC Radio 4) |
| 2012 | A Doll's House (BBC Radio 3) |
| 2013 | Pather Panchali (BBC Radio 4) |
| 2014 | Baby Farming (BBC Radio 3) |
Filmography
edit| 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 |
| 2018 | Pritilata | Monologue as part of Snatches series, BBC | Writer |
Awards and recognition
editIn 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.[3][30] In June 2016 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2018, Gupta was awarded with the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama for her play Lions and Tigers.[31]
- EMMA (BT Ethnic and Multicultural Media Award for Best Television Production) (screenplay), for Flight (1998)
- John Whiting Award, for 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), for Hobson's Choice (2004)
- Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, for 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, for A Doll's House (2013) [32]
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (2016)
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama for Lions and Tigers (2018)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "About". Tanika Gupta.
- ^ Verma, Jatinder (12 September 2017). Shakespeare's Globe (ed.). "A passion from within: Tanika Gupta on her new play about the fight for Indian Independence". Medium.
- ^ a b c d Roy, Amit (15 July 2008). "Hanged Bengali icon's great-niece bags MBE". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ^ Roberts, Alison (7 August 2007). "London's teenage crisis". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ "Theatre is a great leveller, says Shabana Azmi". Telangana Today.
- ^ "Playwright Tanika Gupta career overview".
- ^ a b "Tanika Gupta talks to Lyn Gardner about her new play". The Guardian. 25 July 2006.
- ^ "The Empress". 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Tanika Gupta's new RSC play sheds light on a hidden royal history". Birmingham Mail. 19 April 2013.
- ^ "The Empress | By Tanika Gupta". Royal Shakespeare Company.
- ^ a b "The Empress, Swan Theatre, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, review". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "The Empress (RSC)". WhatsOnStage. 17 April 2013.
- ^ "A Doll's House review – Ibsen's classic shrewdly reimagined in colonial India". The Guardian. 12 September 2019.
- ^ "Review: A Doll's House at the Lyric Hammersmith".
- ^ "Review: A Doll's House (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre)". WhatsOnStage. 12 September 2019.
- ^ "A Doll's House". BBC.
- ^ "Lions and Tigers review: Superb central performance from Shubham Saraf". The Independent. 4 September 2017. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Review: Lions and Tigers (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse)". WhatsOnStage. 30 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Lions and Tigers review – bloody epic sounds out India's young revolutionaries". The Guardian. 30 August 2017.
- ^ "Plays with conviction: the power of prison drama". The Guardian. 14 May 2009.
- ^ "Gladiator Games , Crucible, Sheffield". The Guardian. 27 October 2005.
- ^ "Hobson's Choice, Young Vic, London". The Guardian. 3 July 2003.
- ^ "Theatre Review: HOBSON'S CHOICE – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester". Frankly My Dear UK. 6 June 2019.
- ^ "Review: Hobson's Choice at Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester".
- ^ "Hobson's Choice review – saris, acid house and a Salford Cinderella story". The Guardian. 6 June 2019.
- ^ Sarah Hemming (28 May 2021). "Playwright Tanika Gupta on her new drama about young Gandhi in London". Financial Times.
- ^ "Stream review: Living Newspaper Edition 4 at Royal Court Theatre". British Theatre Guide. 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Out West".
- ^ "Living Newspaper Edition 4". Royal Court.
- ^ "No. 58729". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2008. p. 17.
- ^ Stephen, Phyllis (20 August 2018). "Lions and Tigers wins the James Tait Black Prize for Drama 2018". theedinburghreporter.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - BBC Audio Drama Awards, 2013 Audio Drama Awards winners - Tanika Gupta, winner of Best Adaptation from Another Source". BBC.
External links
edit- Official website
- Tanika Gupta at IMDb
- Tanika Gupta – In Yer Face Theatre
- "Tanika Gupta", British Council Literature
- 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