Jatinder Verma

Jatinder Verma has been a pioneering figure in the development of British South Asian theatre, and a prominent spokesperson for the importance of increased diversity amongst playwrights, actors, directors, designers, and producers on the mainstream British stage. As co-founder and former Artistic Director of Tara Arts, he developed a new aesthetic style known as 'Binglish' which creates a hybrid dramaturgy of languages, training and performance forms, and styles of acting, and design, that operates to establish a negotiation between cultures which reflects contemporary Britain. Verma is acknowledged as being a leading practitioner and director, as well as writer about theatre and culture, who has transformed the face of theatre in Britain and internationally.

This book combines:

• a detailed biography giving the social and artistic context of Verma’s work and his work with Tara Arts;

• an exploration of Verma’s own writings on ‘Binglish’, including his use of a range of performance forms and philosophies from different cultures, such as the importance of the Natyashastra in his thinking and practice;

• a stylistic analysis of his key productions, including Tartuffe, The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, and the Bollywood pantomimes;

• pathways into some of the practical exercises relating to the dramaturgical style of ‘Binglish’ devised by Jatinder Verma.

As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today’s student.

Jerri Daboo is Professor in Performance at the University of Exeter, UK. She has been researching and writing about the history of British South Asian theatre for over 15 years. She was a co-investigator on the AHRC-funded project documenting British South Asian theatre (University of Exeter, 2004–2008), and principal investigator on the AHRC-funded Southall Story project (2011–2014). She has published articles and chapters on British South Asian theatre, as well as the monograph Staging British South Asian Culture (Routledge 2017).