As a child, Tanika Gupta performed Tagore dance dramas with her parents across the European continent. After graduating from Oxford University, Tanika worked as a community worker and in an Asian women’s refuge. She began writing plays in the early 90’s while also working as a script reader for BBC TV’s Black Screen.Tanika was appointed Writer in Residence at Soho Theatre Company (1996-98) and Pearson’s Writer-in-Residence at the Royal National Theatre (2000-2001). She recently completed a Royal National Theatre exchange with the New Dramatists in New York and ran writing workshops with the National Theatre Studio in South Africa in 2001.

Plays include: Voices on the Wind (Talawa Theatre Company/1995); A River Sutra (Indosa Productions/National Theatre Studio/1997); Skeleton (Soho Theatre/1997); On The Couch With Enoch (BAC/1998); A Doll’s House (adaptation of Ibsen’s play for Nottingham Playhouse/1998); Fat Girls (Soho Theatre/1998); Flesh And Blood (Birmingham Rep/1999); The Waiting Room (Royal National Theatre/2000); The Good Woman Of Setzuan (translation of Bertold Brecht’s play for the RNT Education Department/2001); Sanctuary (RNT/2002); Inside Out (Clean Break/tour & Arcola Theatre/2003); Fragile Land (Hampstead Theatre/2003); Hobson’s Choice (Young Vic & tour/2003).

TV includes: Fragile Land, All About Me, The Lives Of Animals, The Bill, Crossroads, Eastenders, Flight, Sandglass, The Fiancee, A Suitable Boy, Grange Hill, London Bridge, A Cut Above, Bideshi, The Rhythm Of Raz.

Radio includes: Asha (finalist in BBC Young Playwrights Festival 1991); Badal And His Bike (1993); Pankhiraj, The Bounty Hunter, Ananda Sananda (all 1997); The Whispering Tree (1998/winner of the Prix ex Aequeo Bratislava); The Queen’s Retreat, Muse Of Fusion, The Book Of Secrets (all 1999); Betrayal – The Secret, The Trial Of William Davidson, Stowaway (all 2001). For the BBC World Service and Radio 3 her work includes The Eternal Bubble, Voices On The Wind, Red Oleanders, A Second Chance (nominated for a CRE award/2003) and Westway.

Tanika is currently under commission to the Royal Court Theatre and was recently awarded The Asian Woman of Achievement award 2003 in the arts and culture category. She is currently working on two feature film scripts and a two part series for the BBC.