Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti writes for stage, screen and radio. Her work spans state-of-the-nation plays such as A Kind of People at the Royal Court Downstairs, described by the Guardian as ‘The Royal Court at its best’ and musical comedies like Choir at Chichester Festival Theatre. Her play Behzti was sensationally closed after protests at the Birmingham Rep, forcing her into hiding. It won the Susan Smith Blackburn prize, was translated into French and Italian and toured both countries.

She is interested in themes of imagination and freedom and aims to create entertaining and provocative work which challenges and moves audiences. Titles for screen include the feature Everywhere and Nowhere and Dead Meat, a love story in a butcher’s shop. She was part of the team on The Archers which created the groundbreaking Helen and Rob domestic violence story.Her second collection of plays is set to be published by Methuen. She is developing a screenplay for Ffilm Cymru and a series with Hometeam/Universal. She is also collaborating with Clean Break on a new piece and a film of her hit show Scenes from Lost Mothers.

Gurpreet has spoken at many events including the Cambridge Union, the WOW festival in Norway, the Academy Under Trees, Berlin, and the Bienal Internacional de Teatro in Brazil. She has been a judge for the Verity Bargate award, the George Devine award and the Writer’s Guild New Play Commission Scheme.

She is a member of BAFTA, a trustee of the Peggy Ramsay Foundation and an ambassador for Birth Companions, a charity that works to improve the lives of babies and women who experience inequality and disadvantage.

Audio from Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti