Jatinder Verma author page

Jatinder Verma biography

Jatinder Verma MBE is a British theatre director, playwright and children’s author. Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, he grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, before moving to Britain in 1968. He studied at the University of York and the University of Sussex.

In 1977, Verma co-founded Tara Arts, a British Asian theatre company established in response to the racist murder of Gurdip Singh Chaggar in Southall. He directed the company’s first production, an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Sacrifice, at Battersea Arts Centre that year. He subsequently directed productions of Shakespeare, Molière and classical Indian drama, including The Tempest, Macbeth and The Little Clay Cart. His production of Molière’s Tartuffe at the National Theatre in 1990 made him the first non-white director to work at the venue.

Verma developed a theatrical approach he called ‘Binglish’, combining Asian and European performance traditions. He served as Artistic Director of Tara Arts for more than four decades and oversaw the redevelopment of Tara Theatre, which reopened in September 2016. He was appointed MBE in 2017 for services to diversity in the arts.

His children’s book The Story of Divaali, illustrated by Nilesh Mistry, was published by Barefoot Books in 2002. Based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, it retells the story of Prince Rama, his wife Sita and their struggle against the demon king Ravana, introducing readers to the narrative associated with the Hindu festival of Diwali. The book received a NAPRA Nautilus Award in 2003.

A revised edition, Prince of Fire: The Story of Diwali, was published by Barefoot Books in 2016, retaining Nilesh Mistry’s illustrations and presenting the story as an illustrated chapter book for young readers.