The Wayne State Indian Faculty and Staff Association, Faculty and staff engagement groups, Office of Inclusive Excellence, College of Fine Performing and Communication Arts, Wayne State University welcome all members of our community to join us for a special interactive discussion: 

"Theatre in the South Asian diaspora - with particular reference to UK & US"

This illustrated one-hour talk and Q&A takes the form of a provocation: what role is South Asian theatre playing in the post-colonial diaspora?

Jatinder Verma, MBE, will focus on the experiences of an iconic theatre company in the UK that he co-founded in the late-1970s and led as Artistic Director for over 40 years - during the course of which the company went from being a ‘community theatre’ company to the UK’s National Theatre.

It is intended that such a focus will allow comparisons with the development of South Asian theatre in the US and suggest strategies for the future.

**Limited seating is available, RSVP for in-person attendance**

Guest Speaker:

​Jatinder Verma, MBE

Jatinder has developed a unique cross-cultural theatre style -Binglish, where Asian theatre sensibilities meet European drama. Across a 40+ year career in theatre, Jatinder has setup a theatre company (Tara Arts), directed over 100 plays, adapted many classics of world theatre, written original plays, and built a theatre (Tara Theatre).

Jatinder left Tara after creating Britain’s first multicultural theatre building - Tara Theatre in south London. In 2020 he formed JVP with designer Claudia Mayer to pursue cross-cultural Binglish projects across a range of media and in vocational training academies –regularly undertaking projects at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and Central School.

Over the years, Jatinder has directed a range of Shakespeare plays, including Macbeth, Tempest, As You Like It (at RADA), Merchant of Venice, Winter’s Tale (at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama), and Troilus and Cressida. European classics include Tartuffe (at the National Theatre), Marriage of Figaro, Government Inspector and Enemy of the People. Indian classics include The Little Clay Cart (at NT), and Hayavadana. Modern plays include Hanif Kureishi’s The Black Album (at NT), Vincent in Brixton by Nicholas Wright (at RADA), The Game of Love and Chai by Nigel Planer and The Domestic Crusaders by Wajahat Ali.

Since 2020, has been directing for BBC Radio 4 a 9-episode modern version of the Indian epic The Mahabharata. He has also directed films, other plays for radio and presented documentaries on radio and television. And has written a book for children, along with a variety of articles on theatre.

Jatinder has been awarded an MBE, honorary doctorates from the universities of York, Exeter and Leicester along with honorary fellowships from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Rose Bruford College.