Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

“In this country, you go as far as they let you.” Friday night and someone's having a party. It seems like a laugh, but not everyone's having fun. Nicky and Anjum want their kids to get into the best schools, and Gary is feeling the pressure after applying for a promotion. What happens when not everyone will get what they want? Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's new play about a group of working-class friends dreaming of a better life for their children questions the dream of class mobility, and what happens when the odds are stacked against you.

A Kind of People

Teenager Sati loves Arsenal striker Ian Wright. Her sister Jaspal dreams of a career as a Karen Carpenter impersonator, but since their mother left on a pilgrimage to India seven years ago her life has been spiralling out of control.

Behsharam (Shameless)

"You think it is pleasant watching a fat virgin become infertile? I want to be seen and noticed and invited by people. I want anything... that is not this." Past her prime, Min joyfully spends her life caring for her sick, foul-mouthed mother, Balbir. Today, for the first time in years, they ́re off out. Mother and daughter head to the local Sikh Temple, but when Balbir encounters old friends, a past trauma rears its ugly head. Min and Balbir ́s illusions are about to be shattered as they become immersed in a world of desperate aspiration and dangerous deals. In a community where public honour is paramount, is there any room for the truth? Behzti was scheduled to open at The Door (Birmingham Rep) in December 2004 but was cancelled due to protests by some members of the local Sikh community.

Behzti (Dishonour)

"Past her prime, Min happily spends her life caring for her sick, foul-mouthed mother, Balbir. With Elvis the home help in tow, mother and daughter head to the local Sikh Temple. When Balbir encounters old friends, a past trauma rears its ugly head. Min and Balbir's illusions are about to be shattered as they become cruelly immersed in a world of desperate aspiration and dangerous deals." "In a community where public honour is paramount, is there any room for the truth?"--BOOK JACKET.

Two daughters, two mothers, one father, a cardboard cut-out and a foul-mouthed granny – a household at war with itself, and a family which will do anything to protect its' secrets. Behsharam (Shameless) follows second generation sisters, Jaspal and Sati, through the fantasies, dysfunctions and obsessions of their extraordinary extended family. Set in Birmingham, this is a bold, disturbing and at times hilarious exploration of the British Asian experience.

Vira hasn't seen her sister Deesh for years. Deesh's kids, Amy and Bill, want to know why but nobody's telling them anything. When Deesh invites her sister to Amy's flashy party, Vira reckons it's time to come home and move on. Time to stop watching the telly, get out of her council flat, stick on a glitzy sari and embrace her nearest and dearest. But is it possible to forgive and forget? And when a family is built on lies, will it be destroyed by the truth?

Elephant

What happens when the legacy of a father collides with the dreams of his son? Widow Jeeto Gill has spent her life working hard and making sacrifices for her children. Now she looks forward to going back to her land in the Punjab, eating saag and roti on a verandah and letting her tired eyes rest on green fields. Her son Pal seems to have it all but he’s restless. He’s got big plans for his Daddy’s business and a taste for Johnny Walker Black Label. However his kind-hearted wife Liz has her own ideas about what’s best. Meanwhile Pal’s sharp-tongued sister Cookie runs the tackiest beauty salon in town and harbours a dark secret. When their cousin’s destitute wife, Reema, arrives from back home, the Gills propose to take care of her. Little do they know that her arrival will change the course of their family’s destiny forever.

Khandan (Family)

Lucy Prebble

Inua Ellams

Tanika Gupta

Vinay Patel

Philip Ridley

Simon Stephens

Tim Crouch

Alistair McDowall

Zoe Cooper

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

Chris Thorpe

Hannah Khalil

Edward Bond

James Graham

Sudha Bhuchar

Laura Wade

Christopher Shinn

Mojisola Adebayo

Anne Washburn

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm

Theatre has a complex history of responding to crises, long before they happen. Through stage plays, contemporary challenges can be presented, explored and even foreshadowed in ways that help audiences understand the world around them. Since the theatre of the Greeks, audiences have turned to live theatre in order to find answers in uncertain political, social and economic times, and through this unique collection questions about This anthology brings together a collection of 20 scenes from 20 playwrights that each respond to the world in crisis. Twenty of the world's most prolific playwrights were asked to select one scene from across their published work that speaks to the current world situation in 2020. As COVID-19 continues to challenge every aspect of global life, contemporary theatre has long predicted a world on the edge. Through these 20 scenes from plays spanning from 1980 to 2020, we see how theatre and art has the capacity to respond, comment on and grapple with global challenges that in turn speak to the current time in which we are living. Each scene, chosen by the writer, is prefaced by an interview in which they discuss their process, their reason for selection and how their work reflects both the past and the present. From the political plays of Lucy Prebble and James Graham to the polemics of Philip Ridley and Tim Crouch. From bold works by Inua Ellams, Morgan Lloyd Malcom and Tanika Gupta to the social relevance of Hannah Khalil, Zoe Cooper and Simon Stephens this anthology looks at theatre in the present and asks the question: “how can theatre respond to a world in crisis?” The collection is prefaced by an introduction from Edward Bond, one of contemporary theatre's most prolific dramatists.

20 Scenes for the Stage in Troubled Times

Theatre in Times of Crisis

Behud (Beyond Belief) is the latest play by controversial playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti.In December 2004, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti rocked the world of theatre when it was cancelled after protests in Birmingham. The closure of the play sparked a vehement debate about offence and freedom of speech, as well as death threats for the playwright forcing her to go into hiding. In Behud, a playwright attempts to make sense of the past by visiting the darkest corners of her imaginations. Set amidst the theatre establishment, politicians and protesters, Behud is an imaginative response, inspired by the events surrounding Behzti, and the compelling story of an artist struggling to be heard.

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

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