Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti Explained

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti (born in Watford in 1968 or 1969^[1]) is a British Sikh writer who has written extensively for stage, screen and radio.^[2] Her play Behzti (Dishonour) was cancelled by the Birmingham Rep after protests against the play by Sikhs turned violent and alleged death threats forced Bhatti to go into hiding.^[3]

Life

Bhatti's first play, Behsharam (Shameless), received criticism from the Sikh community when it opened in 2001.

In 2005, Behzti won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for the best English language play written by a woman.^[4]

In 2010, her follow-up to Behzti titled Behud (Beyond Belief)^[5] was co-produced by Soho Theatre and Coventry Belgrade and was shortlisted for the John Whiting Award.

In 2014, Khandan (Family) opened to sell-out audiences at the Birmingham Rep and the Royal Court Theatre.

In June 2014, her first anthology of plays, Plays One, was published by Oberon Books.

She is now working on a stage commission for the National Theatre. Bhatti also regularly writes for The Archers,^[6] the Radio 4 drama serial.

Awards

• 2003 Nominated for the Race in the Media Award by the Commission for Racial Equality in the radio music/entertainment category for North East South West.^[7]
• Asian Women of Achievement awards, nominated twice^[8]
• 2005 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a US-based award of $10,000 made annually to the best English language play by a woman, for Behzti.^[4]
• 2010 Behud (Beyond Belief) nominated for the John Whiting Award

Works

Plays

• Book: Behsharam (Shameless). Oberon Books . 1 April 2002. 978-1-84002-249-0 . Soho Theatre, London 2001
• Behzti Book: (Dishonour) . Oberon Books . 1 September 2005 . 978-1-84002-522-4 . registration . The Door, Birmingham Rep, Birmingham, UK 2005
• Come to Where I'm From, Web site: Come to Where I'm From – Watford . 19 December 2010., Listen to the Podcast at Painesplough
• Book: Behud (Beyond Belief). Oberon Books . April 2010 . 978-1-84943-096-8. Soho Theatre, London 2010
• Londonee, Web site: World Premiere at Rich Mix Theatre. 25 May 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120730022802/http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/londonee/. 30 July 2012. Mukul and Ghetto Tigers and Lifeguard Productions
• Two Old Ladies, Leicester Haymarket 2000
• Fourteen (2014),^[9] Web site: Premier at Watford Palace Theatre . 21 May 2014 . dead . https://archive.today/20140528220005/http://www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/page/fourteen . 28 May 2014 . Watford Palace Theatre commissioned 'Fourteen' after Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti wrote a short play for 'Come To Where I'm From' in 2010, co-produced by Watford Palace Theatre and Paines Plough
• Khandan (Family) (2014),^[10] Book: Premiere at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. 22 May 2014 . 978-1-78319-093-5. Bhatti. Gurpreet Kaur. A Royal Court Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre Co-production
• "A Kind of People" (2019). Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre London.

Radio, films, teleplays

• Heart of Darkness (Feb 2013), Stone, BBC Radio 4
• The Archers (2012),^[6] BBC Radio 4
• Everywhere and Nowhere, feature film, 2011
• Dead Meat, half-hour film produced by Channel 4 as part of the Dogma TV season
• Stitched Up, Commissioned Series for BBC1
• Honour, single Film for BBC2
• The Cleaner, hour-long film for BBC1
• Lipstick and Nails, police drama for Great Meadow Productions
• Pound Shop Boys, originally commissioned by October Films/Film Council/Scottish Screen and developed through PAL
• Airport 2000, Leicester Haymarket / Riverside Studios
• An Enemy of the People, 2010, hour-long episode for BBC World Service
• Fourteen Units a Week, 2010, From Fact to Fiction, BBC Radio 4
• Mera Des (My Country), BBC Radio 3
• My Lithuanian Lady, BBC World Service
  • Westway, over thirty episodes – 1999-2001 – of the BBC World Service Radio Drama Series Eastenders, BBC 1, nine episodes – 2001 - 2004

External links

• Website: https://www.gurpreetkaurbhatti.com/

Notes and References

1. News: Akbar . Arifa . 2019-12-02 . Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti: 'My family make the Borgias look like the Waltons' . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-04-01 . 0261-3077.
2. Web site: Ten years after my play Behzti sparked Sikh riots, I'm back Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti . The Guardian. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti . 24 May 2014 . 14 November 2017.
3. News: This warrior is fighting on . The Guardian. 13 January 2005. London.
   - News: Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti: 'I'm not scared' . . Alfred Hickling . 15 March 2010 . 14 November 2017.
4. Web site: XXVII. 2004-05. 3 July 2005. Blackburn Prize. 9 June 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080602160327/http://www.blackburnprize.org/chronlist04-05.htm. 2 June 2008.
   - 'Bezhti' author wins prize for women playwrights, Louise Jury, The Independent, 8 March 2005, retrieved 9 June 2009
5. News: Behud (Beyond Belief). Michael Billington. The Guardian. 1 March 2010. 24 December 2012.
6. Web site: A Week in Ambridge . Archers summaries on the web . 10 June 2012 . 10 June 2012 .
7. News: Profile: Playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti . BBC News . 20 December 2004.
8. Web site: Gala Dinner: Wednesday May 19, 2010 London Hilton, Park Lane. Asian Women of Achievement Awards . 18 May 2010 . 17 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100517085119/http://awa.realbusiness.co.uk/ . dead .
9. Web site: Fourteen: Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's new play examines the growing pains of teenage life . Fourteen play . 23 May 2014 . 23 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140605191148/https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/05-2014/fourteen-watford-palace-theatre_34547.html . 5 June 2014.
10. Web site: Khandan: Sikh suburban drama confronts home truths . Khandan play . 28 May 2014 . 28 May 2014 .