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{{Short description|British actor}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sudha Bhuchar
| birth_date = 1961 or 1962
| occupation =
Actor
Playwright
Co-founder of Tamasha Theatre Company
| known_for =
''Balti Kings'' (1999)
''A Fine Balance'' (2005)
''The Trouble with Asian Men'' (2005)
''My Name Is...'' (2014)
| notable_works =
Numerous screenplays for television and film
| website =
| awards =
| language =
}}
'''Sudha Bhuchar''' (born {{birth based on age as of date |40 |2002|07|06|noage=1|mos=1}})<ref name=whos /> is a Tanzanian-born British Asian actor, playwright, and co-founder of the [[Tamasha Theatre Company]].<ref name=tamasha-past>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tamasha.org.uk/productions/past/|title=Past Productions - Tamasha Theatre Company|last=Company|first=Tamasha Theatre|website=www.tamasha.org.uk|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> She is best known for Tamasha's ''Balti Kings'' (1999), ''A Fine Balance'' (2005), ''The Trouble with Asian Men'' (2005), and ''My Name Is...'' (2014) as well as numerous screenplays for television and film.<ref name=bc>{{Cite web|url=https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/sudha-bhuchar|title=Sudha Bhuchar - Literature|website=literature.britishcouncil.org|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> Bhuchar's playwriting and producing work focuses on the stories of British Asians with the goal of attracting culturally and ethnically diverse audiences.<ref name=boulevard>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bhucharboulevard.com/|title=Home|website=Bhuchar Boulevard|language=en-US|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> She has been called "one of Britain's most successful artistic theatre directors and well-established actors" by ''Asian Culture Vulture'' online magazine.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://asianculturevulture.com/portfolios/artistic-director-25-years-experience-treated-like-a-beginner/ | title=
Artistic director with 25 years' experience 'treated like a beginner'|website=Asian Culture Vulture | date=6 May 2014 | access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>
== Early life and education ==
Bhuchar was born in [[Tanga, Tanzania]], to Indian parents.<ref name=bc /> She identifies as [[British Asian]] and spent her childhood traveling back and forth between East Africa and India. When Bhuchar was 11 years old, the family moved to England, living in [[King's Lynn]] in [[Norfolk]] for a year and then moving to London, where she went to school in [[Fulham]].<ref name="child">{{cite web |title=Child of the Divide: Resource pack |url=https://polkatheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Child-of-the-Divide-Education-Pack-2017.pdf |publisher=Bhuchar Boulevard |accessdate=10 June 2018 |page=5}}</ref> She describes herself as "a chronically shy teenager" and focused academically on science and maths, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Maths and Sociology from Roehampton Institute (now known as [[University of Roehampton]]).<ref name=boulevard /> Bhuchar credits her first interest with theatre to attending the performance of Tara Arts, a South Asian cultural entertainment group, at a Diwali celebration in 1979. She joined the group to connect with other young British Asians.<ref name=whos>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2002/jul/06/whoswhoinbritishtheatre.features18|title=Who's Who in British Theatre: Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith|date=6 July 2002|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>
She lives in London with her husband and sons.<ref name=boulevard />
== Professional life ==
===Tamasha Theatre Company===
In 1989, Bhuchar and director [[Kristine Landon-Smith]] founded Tamasha Theatre Company with the mission of popularizing Asian art into the British mainstream culture, diversifying narratives, and encouraging developing artists from ethnic minorities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.tamasha.org.uk/about/history/|title=History - Tamasha Theatre Company|last=Company|first=Tamasha Theatre|website=www.tamasha.org.uk|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref> At Tamasha, Bhuchar has worked as a playwright, actor, and co-Artistic Director. In a 1999 interview with ''[[The Guardian]]'', Bhuchar explained that casting opportunities for Asian actors in England are limited and "unimaginative".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/jul/14/artsfeatures2|title=If you want it done properly...|date=14 July 1999|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>
According to Bhuchar in a 2014 interview with ''London Calling'' cultural review, Tamasha is a "political company" that encourages "diversity in the arts, representation on the stages, [and] writers from backgrounds which don't normally birth artists and writers".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.londoncalling.com/features/a-day-in-the-life-of-tamasha-theatre-company|title=Tamasha Theatre {{!}} A Day In The Life {{!}} Sudha Bhuchar & Fin Kennedy|website=www.londoncalling.com|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>
Bhuchar and Landon-Smith jointly won the 2005 Asian Women of Achievement Awards for Arts and Culture and the 2010 First Women Award in the Tourism and Leisure Category.<ref name="bc" />
In 2015, Bhuchar retired from her co-Artistic Director position at Tamasha and founded a new theatre company, Bhuchar Boulevard, in 2015.<ref name=":3" />
===Bhuchar Boulevard===
In 2015, after leaving Tamasha Theatre Company, Bhuchar founded Bhuchar Boulevard with the goal of continuing to diversify British theatre by featuring more artists of color and challenging its audience to more critically and empathetically examine their surrounding communities.<ref name=boulevard /> The title of the theatre company is a nod to Bhuchar's "global family" and their efforts to push for a sense of belonging and recognition in mainstream Western culture and is publicly funded by [[Arts Council England]].<ref name=boulevard />
Bhuchar Boulevard creates new plays- most recently, ''Child of the Divide'' (2017) and ''Golden Hearts'' (2014). It also combines activism for diversifying arts and other public causes, such as with Bhuchar's work with ''Golden Hearts'' and its 2016 partnership with East London Genes & Health to prevent premature heart failure among Asian men.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.richmix.org.uk/events/theatre/golden-hearts|title=Golden Hearts|website=Rich Mix|language=en|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>
As Artistic Director of Bhuchar Boulevard, Sudha Bhuchar also works as a commissioned playwright. She most recently collaborated with Tamasha and Paines Plough Theatre Companies, writing a collection of monologues entitled ''Come To Where I'm From'' (2017).<ref name=boulevard />
=== TV and radio ===
Bhuchar has appeared in TV soap operas ''[[EastEnders]]'' and ''[[Coronation Street]]'',<ref name="corrie">{{cite web|url=http://coronationstreetupdates.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/award-winning-writer-joins-coronation.html|title=Award-winning writer joins Coronation Street cast|date=16 August 2016|website=Coronation Street Blog|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref> and created the role of solicitor [[Usha Gupta]] in radio soap ''[[The Archers]]''.<ref name="jaggi">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/jul/14/artsfeatures2|title=If you want it done properly ...|last1=Jaggi|first1=Maya|date=14 July 1999|work=The Guardian|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref>
In 2016, she appeared on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Great Lives]]'', nominating Indian actress [[Zohra Sehgal]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07875z7|title=Sudha Bhuchar chooses the life of Zohra Sehgal: Great Lives, Series 39 Episode 4 of 9|website=Great Lives|publisher=BBC Radio 4|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref>
===Playwriting and screenwriting selected works<ref name=tamasha-past />===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title of Play
!Year of Premiere
!Authorship
!Notes
|-
|Untouchable
|1989
|Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith, based on the [[Untouchable (novel)|novel of the same name]] by [[Mulk Raj Anand]]
|Tamasha's first production
|-
|House of the Sun
|1991
|Sudha Bhuchar
|
|-
|A Tainted Dawn
|1997
|Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith
|
|-
|Fourteen Songs, Two Weddings and a Funeral
|1998
|Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith, adapted from the film [[Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!|Hum Aapke Hain Koun]] by [[Sooraj Barjatya]]
|Winner of the Barclays Theatre Award for Best Musical and BBC Asia Award for Achievement in the Arts
|-
|Balti Kings
|1999
|Sudha Bhuchar and [[Shaheen Khan (British actress)|Shaheen Khan]]
|
|-
|Ryman and the Shiekh
|2002
|Sudha Bhuchar, Kristine Landon-Smith, [[Rehan Sheikh]], Chris Ryman and [[Richard Vranch]]
|
|-
|Strictly Dandia
|2003
|Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith
|
|-
|The Trouble with Asian Men
|2005
|Created by Sudha Buchar, Kristine Landon-Smith, and Louise Wallinger
|
|-
|Child of the Divide
|2006
|Sudha Buchar, adapted from the short story ''Pali'' by Bhisham Sahni
|''Best Kids' Show of 2006'' [[Time Out London]]
|-
|A Fine Balance
|2006
|Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith, adapted from the [[A Fine Balance|novel of the same name]] by [[Rohinton Mistry]]
|
|-
|The House of Bilquis Bibi
|2010
|Sudha Buchar, adapted from the play ''[[The House of Bernarda Alba]]'' by [[Federico García Lorca|Federico Garcia Lorca]]
|
|-
|My Name Is...
|2014
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!Title of Screenplay or Radio Script<ref name=bc />
!Year
!Authorship
!Company
|-
|Midnight Feast
|2004
|Sudha Bhuchar
|Tamasha Theatre Company
|-
|Girlies
|1997
|Sudha Bhuchar and Shaheen Khan
|[[BBC Radio 4]]
|-
|The House Across the Street
|Unknown
|
|Unknown
|}
==== Performance experience<ref name=tamasha-past /><ref name=bc /> ====
{| class="wikitable"
!Play
!Year
!Company
|-
|Women of the Dust
|1992
|Tamasha Theatre Company
|-
|A Shaft of Sunlight
|1994
|Tamasha Theatre Company
|-
|A Yearning
|1995
|Tamasha Theatre Company
|-
|A Fine Balance
|2006, 2007
|Tamasha Theatre Company
|-
|Sweet Cider
|2008
|
|}
{| class="wikitable"
!Television Show
!Date
!Role
|-
|[[EastEnders]]
|1993-1994, 1996
|Meena McKenzie
|-
|[[Coronation Street]]
|2016
|Sonia Rahman
|}
==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{imdb name|0080438}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhuchar, Sudha}}
[[Category:1960s births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British actresses of Asian descent]]
[[Category:People from Tanga, Tanzania]]
[[Category:British people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:British dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:British women screenwriters]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Roehampton]]
[[Category:British theatre people]]
[[Category:People from Tanga Region]]
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