In December 2004, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti rocked the world of theatre when it was cancelled after protests in Birmingham. The closure of the play sparked a vehement debate about offence and freedom of speech, as well as death threats for the playwright forcing her to go into hiding. Critically acclaimed and widely regarded as a fresh, original and provocative voice in British theatre, this volume gathers together her work to date. It is introduced by Jatinder Verma, Artistic Director of Tara Arts, London. Behzti -- Past her prime, Min joyfully spends her life caring for her sick, foul-mouthed mother, Balbir. Today, for the first time in years, they're off out. Mother and daughter head to the local Sikh Temple, but when Balbir encounters old friends, a past trauma rears its ugly head. Min and Balbir's illusions are about to be shattered as they become immersed in a world of desperate aspiration and dangerous deals. Behud -- In Behud, a playwright attempts to make sense of the past by visiting the darkest corners of her imaginations.
Set amidst the theatre establishment, politicians and protesters, Behud is an imaginative response, inspired by the events surrounding Behzti, and the compelling story of an artist struggling to be heard. Besharam --- Two daughters, two mothers, one father, a cardboard cut-out and a foul-mouthed granny - a household at war with itself, and a family which will do anything to protect its' secrets. Behsharam (Shameless) follows second generation sisters, Jaspal and Sati, through the fantasies, dysfunctions and obsessions of their extraordinary extended family. Khandan -- What happens when the legacy of a father collides with the dreams of his son? Widow Jeeto Gill has spent her life working hard and making sacrifices for her children. Now she looks forward to going back to her land in the Punjab, eating saag and roti on a verandah and letting her tired eyes rest on green fields. Her son Pal seems to have it all but he's restless. He's got big plans for his Daddy's business and a taste for Johnny Walker Black Label. However his kind-hearted wife Liz has her own ideas about what's best.
Meanwhile Pal's sharp-tongued sister Cookie runs the tackiest beauty salon in town and harbours a dark secret. When their cousin's destitute wife, Reema, arrives from back home, the Gills propose to take care of her. Little do they know that her arrival will change the course of their family's destiny forever.
