Binglish Plays

Through eight never-before-published plays, Jatinder Verma highlights both his extraordinary career as well as the wider role of multiculturalism in Britain's theatrical history.

"When Jatinder Verma came to Britain, he found it a racist hotbed. So he fought back - by setting up the UK's first Asian theatre group" - The Guardian

Few theatre directors have had a career as influential as Jatinder Verma: over the course of 45 years, he has directed over 100 plays, was founder of Tara Arts, Britain's premiere theatre company, and launched the careers of countless contemporary actors and writers. Now, his own work is published for the very first time.

The selected eight plays chart Verma's career from the 1970s to the 2010s: four decades that witnessed an extraordinary change in British theatre, with the development of ‘marginal’ companies that grew to influence the mainstream. Along with each play, Verma provides photographs and diagrams of their first production, as well as describing their creative processes and the reaction to the work.

Accompanied by an introductory essay by Professor Jerri Daboo that contextualises Verma's work within the wider canon, Binglish Plays: The SelectedPlays of Jatinder Vermaand Tara Arts finally showcases the writer's incredible work and the indelible mark he's made on Britain's cultural history.