SACW | Hullabaloo over the English play Behzti

sacw
Tue, 21 Dec 2004 17:36:20 -0800

South Asia Citizens Wire #2 | 22 Dec.,  2004
via:  www.sacw.net

[1] Foreword to the play Behzti (Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti) [2] Theatre's role is to challenge religion (Dominic Dromgoole) [3] Writer in hiding as violence closes Sikh play (Tania Branigan and Vikram Dodd) [4] British Asian artists stand by their freedom to express - Shakila Taranum Maan - Waris Islam - Nirjay Mahindru - Sampad - Kalpana Chauhan [5] Violence and vandalism close production (Terry Kirby) [6] Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti: 'A warm, sensitive writer who did not set out to offend' (Louise Jury) [7] Behzti, Birmingham Repertory Theatre - Gripping and essential: an offensive yet searing comedy (Helen Cross) [8] An offensive act? [Script of the key scene from Behzti] [9] Can offence be avoided in this life? (Arnold Wesker)


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[1]

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/
20th December, 2004

FOREWORD TO THE PLAY BEHZTI
by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
Playwright and actress

Truth is everything in Sikhism, the truth of action, the truth of an individual, God's truth. The heritage of the Sikh people is one of courage and victory over adversity. Our leaders were brave revolutionaries with the finest minds, warriors who propagated values of egalitarianism and selflessness.

But sometimes I feel imprisoned by the mythology of the Sikh diaspora. We are apparently a living, breathing success story, breeding affluence through hard work and aspiration. There is certainly much to be proud of and our achievements and struggles have been extraordinary. They are a testament to our remarkable community - energetic, focussed and able. But where there are winners there must be losers. And loss.

I find myself drawn to that which is beneath the surface of triumph. All that is anonymous and quiet, raging, despairing, human, inhumane, absurd and comical. To this and to those who are not beacons of multiculturalism, who live with fear and without hope and who thrive through their own versions of anti-social behaviour. I believe it is necessary for any community to keep evaluating its progress, to connect with its pain and to its past. And thus to cultivate a sense of humility and empathy; something much needed in our angry, dog eat dog times.

Clearly the fallibility of human nature means that the simple Sikh principles of equality, compassion and modesty are sometimes discarded in favour of outward appearance, wealth and the quest for power. I feel that distortion in practice must be confronted and our great ideals must be restored. Moreover, only by challenging fixed ideas of correct and incorrect behaviour can institutionalised hypocrisy be broken down.

Often, those who err from the norm are condemned and marginalized, regardless of right or wrong, so that the community will survive. However, such survival is only for the fittest, and the weak are sometimes seen as unfortunates whose kismet is bad. Much store is set by ritual rooted in religion - though people's preoccupation with the external and not the internal often renders these rituals meaningless.

My play reflects these concerns. I believe that drama should be provocative and relevant. I wrote BEHZTI because I passionately oppose injustice and hypocrisy. And because writing drama allows me to create characters, stories, a world in which I, as an artist, can play and entertain and generate debate.

The writers who I admire are courageous. They present their truths and dare to take risks whilst living with their fears. They tell us life is ferocious and terrifying, that we are imperfect and only when we embrace our imperfections honestly, can we have hope.

In order for a story to be truly universal I think it is important to start with what is specific. Though the play is set in a Gurdwara, its themes are not confined to Sikhism, and it is my intention that a person of any faith, or indeed of no faith, could relate to its subject matter.

Over the years there have been many robust dramas about world religions. Sikhism is a relatively new entrant to this arena and I am aware of the sensitivity around such discussion.

The human spirit endures through the magic of storytelling. So let me tell you a story.

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
December 2004

o o o o

[2]

The Guardian
December 20, 2004
Comment

THEATRE'S ROLE IS TO CHALLENGE RELIGION

Dominic Dromgoole

Here's an incident to shut the pundits up. Every tired old ageing punk who drones on at self-defeating length about the death of theatre - its marginalisation and irrelevance to the modern world - can put this in their pipe and smoke it.

When was the last time we had riots and arrests at the unveiling of a spring schedule for a television channel? What happened to the violent resistance that was going to confront Mel Gibson's festival of weirdo Christian masochism? Or Michael Moore's penetrating glimpses into the obvious about George Bush? Many of the new media have a flat, cold deadness about their methods of distribution. Theatre doesn't. It is live and chancy and hot. It creates rumblings.

What seems unfortunate about Saturday night in Birmingham is that there were clearly such painstaking efforts taken to avoid trouble.

Responsible moves were made in both directions by the theatre and by the Sikh community. They listened to each other, compromised where they could, and stood their ground where they had to. Neither side seems to have acted irresponsibly.

So why the violence? It could have been hotheads exhilarated by an end of term Saturday night; it could have been too many high octane preachers crammed into a combustibly small space; it could have been a high-spirited event which spilled over into violence because of provocative policing. Whatever its provenance, violence of this sort inevitably leaves a sense of awkward loss behind it. One can only hope that the same cautious steps which led up to the event can help to defuse it afterwards. Though the scale of the violence is a surprise, this is nothing new in the theatre. Sean O'Casey, a Protestant socialist, fell foul of the fresh-minted purity of the new Irish state. His Plough And The Stars was yelled from the stage by a mob when he besmirched the birthpains of Irish nationalism and the shibboleths of Irish Catholicism.

The greatest problem for Shakespeare was the zealotry of the sour-faced Puritan element. His theatre, and all the other London theatres, were closed for three summers by a highly vociferous minority, who contested that all drama was immoral. Euripides was thought a little out of control by the controlling Greek religious authorities. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, with her new play Behzti, is in an honourable tradition.

Theatre asks for this trouble. It has to. Nonconformity is as natural to theatre as conformity is to religion.

O'Casey knew what he was doing, as did Shakespeare when he put words of pungent atheism into Macbeth's mouth, and as did Euripides, when he portrayed his gods as screaming idiots.

Now, more than ever, it is theatre's role not to be bullied by religious or ideological sensibilities. Now that various forms of fundamentalism are queuing up to close the shutters on the windows of enlightenment - and Sikhism ranks a great deal beneath Christianity for potent offence at this moment - it is more important than ever that theatre finds various ways of saying no to the various blind yeses that are so ardently promoted. It's what it does.

· Dominic Dromgoole is artistic director of the Oxford Stage Company

o  o  o

[3]


The Guardian
December 21, 2004

WRITER IN HIDING AS VIOLENCE CLOSES SIKH PLAY

Tania Branigan and Vikram Dodd

Birmingham's Repertory Theatre after its controversial play Behzti was cancelled on safety grounds, and writer Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti fled her home. Photo: Darren Staples/Reuters

Threats of abduction and murder last night drove a playwright into hiding, hours after her controversial drama was axed due to violent protests by members of the Sikh community.

Friends of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti said she had fled her home and warned "mob rule" was endangering freedom of expression. Ms Bhatti, who is herself Sikh, has declined to comment, but friends hit back on her behalf after nearly 48 hours of silence from her side.

"She has been threatened with murder and told to go into hiding by the police. She is personally paying a high price," said Shakila Taranum Mann, a filmmaker. "She feels this is an attempt to censor her. It is mob rule."

Protesters say that her play Behzti - Dishonour - demeans Sikhism by showing rape and murder within a gurdwara, or temple.

But the row took a new twist as a second Birmingham theatre company offered to stage the play, just hours after officials at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre scrapped it over public safety fears.

Community leaders had welcomed that decision as a victory for common sense, while condemning acts or threats of violence. Last night would have been Behzti's first perfor mance since it was halted on Saturday night as 400 protesters tried to storm the building, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and injuring three police officers.

Elders initially asked the playwright to transfer the drama's setting to a community centre. But discussions broke down after several weeks, and peaceful demonstrations outside the theatre escalated into violence and demands for the play to be banned. Yesterday the two sides remained at an impasse as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre announced it had no alternative but to end Behzti halfway through its run and that Ms Bhatti supported the decision.

Speaking at the city centre playhouse, where boards still covered shattered windows, the theatre's executive director, Stuart Rogers, said: "Sadly, community leaders have been unable to guarantee to us that there will be no repeat of the illegal and violent activities we witnessed on Saturday. It is now clear that we cannot guarantee the safety of our audiences. Very reluctantly, therefore, we have decided to end the current run of the play purely on safety grounds."

Kim Kirpaljit Kaur Brom, a councillor and spokeswoman for the protesters, said the decision to pull the play was right: "We congratulate the [Repertory] theatre for making its decision after we exercised our democratic rights to protest. There are no winners and no losers. The end result is that commonsense has prevailed."

A police spokeswoman stressed that the decision was the theatre's and that, as far as she knew, police had not expressed concern about controlling a large crowd. "If they had decided to carry on with the play, we would have dealt with whatever we had to deal with," she said. "Obviously we would [make clear] ... the amount of resources it was using."

Barry Hugill, spokesman for Liberty, said: "One would have thought it ought to have been possible for the safety of playgoers to be guaranteed. You cannot allow freedom of speech to be suppressed by violence."

Evan Harris, a Liberal Democrat MP, said he would be writing to the home secretary to ask why police were unable to guarantee the safety of law-abiding people performing, staffing or visiting the theatre. But Estelle Morris, arts minister and MP for Birmingham Yardley, said: "Although today is a very sad day for freedom of speech, I think the Rep has done the right thing."

At the height of the confrontation on Saturday, more than 80 police - 30 in riot gear - clashed with demonstrators, and hundreds of theatregoers, including families watching a Christmas show in the main auditorium, were evacuated. Three men arrested on suspicion of public order offences have been released on police bail until the new year.

Mr Rogers added: "We sincerely hope that the play will be produced again as we are certain that it is a work that should be seen and discussed."

That prospect moved a step closer as Neal Foster, actor-manager of the Birmingham Stage Company, said it was prepared to stage Behzti at a multicultural centre in Birmingham. "The story cannot end here. I think freedom of expression is more important than health and safety," he said.


o o o o

[4]

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/
20th December, 2004

British Asian artists stand by their freedom to express
by Shakila Taranum Maan
Filmmaker

I am writing in defence of the play Behzti written by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, and having seen it I feel that it is in no way offensive to the Sikh religion in any manner. It is an extremely brave play in which the characters attend the Gurdwara so that they may find solace in God only to discover that that is taken away by a powerful and corrupt debauched individual who happens to be the administrator - at no time in the play does Gurpreet insult God, the Guru Granth Sahib or the religion - her critique is of individuals within the place of worship - these individuals are human beings and are not represented to be God.

This should be seen more as an opportunity to say that perhaps we can clean up our house of worship and do away with corrupt elements as should any other religious group.

Is religion per se so weak that believers can be unsettled by a play which only a hundred or so people can see at a time? Are people of faith so easily threatened that it seems that their conviction is built on quick sand?

As an artist, I find these times very worrying because it is our job to put a mirror in front of society so that we may progress rather than sweep destructive elements under the carpet.


_____

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/
20th December, 2004

Waris Islam
Writer and Director

I'm a little concerned that in uncertain times, artists are asked to become more responsible and sensitive to public opinion. The only duty art has is that it challenges perspective, forces provocation and isn't crap; but most of all that it's honest. State, commissioning editors, venues all can be selective with what they chose to publicize, publish, or produce, but not artists.

Sure, a lot hasn't moved on in British Asian politics, but a lot also has, and Britishness shouldn't always totally define the British Asian experience. B.Asian Identity wasn't constructed by racism. Imperialism did not totally contribute to the identity I have now. I wont give them that much credit. My ancestry is not only a victim of imperialism, others factors played a part in making us what we are. A hell of a lot contributed to what we are today. So we need to take that into account, and stop belittling ourselves, and our discourse, in the eyes of Eurocentric thinking, by even thinking, that they consume our total crisis of identity (if indeed, it was ever in one).

What reaches the mainstream and stays on the fringe are too different matters. The mainstream platform is something that does need some protection and detailed complicated thought; I suppose I bow to that, but lordy that's NOT a duty for artists and I hope it never is.


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http://www.asiansinmedia.org/
20th December, 2004

Nirjay Mahindru
Artistic director of Asian theatre company Conspirators' Kitchen

The fact the play has been pulled represents a real stain on British Asian artists in 2004.

What have been created are artistic no-go areas. What's next? We can't write about anything problematic in a Hindu temple or mosque or church. Then do we stop there, or is the next thing that we can't say anything problematic about an imam or priest, and then the religion itself?

This serves as a Christmas present to the conservative elements in British theatre. It will reinforce the view that promoting Asian work is problematic and we will stick to safe terrain, such as plays about Bollywood.

_____

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/
20th December, 2004

Sampad
Sampad is a South Asian arts company based in Birmingham

Firstly, sampad deplores the use of violence by certain individuals in response to this play. To try to stop anything by the use of force contravenes fundamental principles of freedom of speech, a right that many people across the world do not have.

The board stands by its previous statement, issued on 15 December, that this play does not deliberately set out to offend, but deals with universal themes of corruption and the abuse of power. There have been a number of different reactions and opinions on the play; we have received comments from right across the spectrum, both for and against.

We are continuing to take very careful note of the discussion and debate that is currently taking place, and will continue to contribute to that debate. Sampad celebrates the challenges and ideas that South Asian artists are bringing into contemporary artistic practice as well as the wider community.

______

http://www.asiansinmedia.org/
20th December, 2004

Kalpana Chauhan
Filmmaker

It goes without saying that whenever an issue portrays as Asian ethnic or religious group in a negative light, members of that community will go up in arms to protect their reputation. It's an extension of how matters are dealt with back in the Mother country.

But back home here in Britain, this behaviour is a vile abomination and what it says about British Asians be they Sikhs, Hindus or Muslims, is that they are too immature in sophistication and intelligence to tolerate artistic freedom. Like children they get so 'hurt' when someone is being rude about them that they must resort to fury and violence. In art Christians and Jews are 'got at' constantly but you don't see them outraged to the extent to which 'we' get. In fact they are clever enough to know that if you ignore something it is most likely to go away.

What is more galling about this recent controversy is that the Sikh community would love it if a play portrayed them as victims of violence or racism (which really is old hat), but do not have the bravery to withstand an attack on what happens behind closed doors.

These demonstrations, violent rampage and censorship is not a sign of tolerance, it is a sign that a religious minority can force its own agenda on the rest of the community. These kinds of attitudes have no place in 21st century Britain.


o o o o

[5]

The Independent
21 December 2004

VIOLENCE AND VANDALISM CLOSE PRODUCTION

By Terry Kirby, Chief Reporter

All remaining performances of a controversial play which features sex
abuse and murder in a Sikh temple were cancelled by a theatre
yesterday due to threats of more violent disorder from the Sikh
community.

In a decision which was greeted with dismay in the theatrical world
and condemned by free speech campaigners as censorship backed
by violence, Birmingham Repertory Theatre said it was acting out of
fears for public safety.

The decision was taken following warnings of a repetition of Saturday
night's angry scenes when more than 400 Sikhs attempted to storm
the theatre in protest at its production of the play, Behzti (Dishonour).

After a morning of talks with Birmingham City Council and the West
Midlands Police, the theatre's executive director Stuart Rogers said
the decision had been taken "very reluctantly", adding: "It remains a
matter of great concern to us that illegal acts of violence can cause
the cancellation of a lawful artistic work."

Sikh community leaders, however, welcomed the decision to cancel
the play, which was commissioned by the theatre from a young Sikh
writer, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti. It began on 9 December and was due to
continue until 30 December.

Mr Rogers told a press conference at the theatre that it had a duty of
care towards its audience, staff and performers.

He said: "It is now clear that we cannot guarantee the safety of our
audiences.

"The theatre vigorously defends its right to produce Behzti and other
similar high-quality plays that deal with contemporary issues in a
multicultural society. We sincerely hope that the play will be produced
again as it is a work that should be seen and discussed.

"We are determined not to go down the road of censorship but when
one stands in the foyer with 800 women and children and sees stones
being thrown and police officers injured, then security and safety
issues come to the fore. We are certainly not bowing to censorship,
we have refused to change the play. This decision will not affect the
sort of plays that we commission and produce in the future."

He said Ms Bhatti, who has also received threats of violence, was "in
complete support" of the decision. The cast, he said, had reacted
"with great sadness.''

Gurdial Singh Atwal, a former chairman of the Council of Sikh
Gurdwaras in Birmingham, and a city councillor, said: "I welcome and
respect this decision, which is a very honourable course for the
theatre to take. It means that relations with the local community can
be restored.'' He warned that any attempt to stage the play anywhere
in the world would be likely to result in protests.

Another councillor, Chaman Lal, added: "There are no winners or
losers - common sense has prevailed." Mohan Singh, from the Guru
Nanak Gurdwara in south Birmingham, added: "It's a sad fact, but it's
a very good thing that they have seen common sense. But it has
taken things to become violent before it happened."

The play, which revolves around two Sikh women in a Gurdwara (a
Sikh place of worship), involves scenes of sexual abuse, violence and
murder. It is described as "a black comedy".

The city's Sikh community, numbering between 40-50,000, was
consulted in advance by the theatre, which agreed to make some
textual changes and to allow a statement from the community to be
issued to the audience. However, both it and the author refused to
budge on the setting of the production. Sikh leaders asked for it to be
moved to a community centre or a nightclub. Their objections were
supported by some other religious groups in the city, including the
Roman Catholic Church.

Protests by Sikhs outside the theatre escalated on Saturday night
when groups attempted to break in. Missiles were thrown, several
police officers were injured and that evening's production of the play -
as well as that of the theatre's main Christmas production, The
Witches - was abandoned.

Although the Rep is unlikely to attempt to stage the play again, last
night another Birmingham theatre company offered to put it on,
regardless of the consequences. Neal Foster, actor/manager of the
Birmingham Stage Company, said: "Free speech is more important
than public safety. If the police are prepared to do their part to offer
protection, then it is incumbent upon any theatre to stage it. If the
Repertory theatre will not put it on, I will.''

Mr Foster, whose company is housed at the historic Birmingham Old
Rep - the site of the city's original repertory company until the present
theatre was opened in 1971 - said he would not try to stage the play
there. "It should be put on in a multicultural centre of some kind.''

He is likely to have considerable support from the rest of the arts
world, which reacted with deep concern to yesterday's events. Sir
Christopher Frayling, the chairman of the Arts Council, warned of a
"blow to the emerging generation of artists from black and minority
ethnic communities". He said: "It sends out a message that there are
certain subjects about which they must never speak.'' It was part of
the role of the arts to generate debate and discussion about
controversial issues, he said. "It is a pity this play has been prevented
from contributing to a considered debate."

Bernie Corbett, the head of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, said it
would deter venues from "taking the plunge" with risky material. He
said: "If you can get a big enough crowd, then you can suppress
something. That's a terrible principle. Over the next months and
years, it makes it less likely that they're going to take the plunge with
anything slightly challenging or controversial, about any subject at all,
where a mob might be whipped up."

The actors' union, Equity, said : "Artists should have the right to
express themselves freely... We don't agree with theatrical
productions being closed as a result of this kind of pressure.'' Equity
had "considerable concerns" about the safety of the actors in Behzti
as a result of the protests, it added.

            OFFENDING ARTWORKS?

The Love That Dares To Speak Its Name, 1976

Denis Lemon, the editor of Gay News, become the last man in Britain
to be prosecuted for - and convicted of - blasphemous libel. The anti-
pornography campaigner Mary Whitehouse successfully prosecuted
him for publishing a 66-line homoerotic poem in 1976. Lemon
received a nine-month suspended sentence, which was later
overturned.

Submission, 2004

Aiming to provoke debate, the Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh
created an 11-minute critique of the treatment of women in Islamic
societies. But instead he provoked his own death - being killed last
month by an Islamic extremist. A collaborator on the film is planning to
make a sequel.

The Satanic Verses, 1988

Author Salman Rushdie was forced into a decade of hiding and
Special Branch protection after the Iranian government - objecting to
his allegedly blasphemous text - issued a fatwa against him in
February 1989.

The Holy Virgin Mary, 1996

New York's mayor Rudolph Giuliani threatened to cancel the Brooklyn
Museum of Art's grant and suspend its expansion project. He was
particularly offended by Chris Ofili's painting The Holy Virgin Mary, a
black Madonna with a dung breast and a background of cut-up
collages from soft-porn magazines.

Piss Christ, 1987

The New York photographer Andres Serrano achieved cult notoriety
by immersing a plastic crucifix in a jar of his own urine and capturing it
on film for posterity. The Catholic Church failed to have Piss Christ
banned and Australia's National Gallery of Victoria now displays the
work.

o o o o

[6]

The Independent
21 December 2004

GURPREET KAUR BHATTI:
'A WARM, SENSITIVE WRITER WHO DID NOT SET OUT TO OFFEND'

By Louise Jury, Arts Correspondent

When asked about writing Asian storylines in television soap operas,
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti was clear that anything was possible, if handled
with tact.

"I believe if your heart is in the right place, if you ask the right
questions, if you make the right choices, anybody can write about
anything," she was quoted as saying in an interview last year. "It is just
about doing it with sensitivity and care and passion."

It is not a view shared by all members of the Sikh community from
which Ms Bhatti hails. Yet those who know her and have worked with
her say that she would never have set out to offend. "She's a splendid
human being," Braham Murray, the artistic director of the Royal
Exchange Theatre in Manchester, said. "It wouldn't have occurred to
her that the play would cause such controversy."

Described by Mr Murray as "extremely attractive and highly
intelligent," Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti was born in Watford but now lives in
London with her partner, Michael Buffong, an actor turned director.

She studied modern languages at Bristol University, after which she
worked as a journalist, refuge worker and actress. But in recent years
she has concentrated on writing. She first won attention through a
drama writers' course run by the old Carlton television company when
it was preparing to make its new version of the soap, Crossroads.

She had already started work on her first play, Behsharam
(Shameless) with a writer's attachment scheme at the Birmingham
Repertory Theatre in 1998, but was forced to put it on the back burner
while she immersed herself in creating the characters for the
resurrected soap.

But while the soap was ultimately doomed, Behsharam received some
positive reviews when it was eventually premiered at the Soho
Theatre in London before transferring to the Birmingham Repertory
Theatre in 2001.

A drama packed with family feuds, prostitution, racial tensions and
drug abuse, the critics disliked its soap-like tendencies but applauded
the spark of talent they identified within. Michael Billington, writing in
The Guardian, said it showed "definite flickers of promise" though he
lamented the precedence of situations over ideas. Nicholas de Jongh,
of the London Evening Standard, said it "might pass muster as an
elaborate trial-run for a Channel 4 soap opera about a working-class
Asian family in England."

She persevered with her writing, producing scripts for EastEnders and
dozens of episodes of the BBC World Service soap, Westway, and a
few plays. She has just written The Cleaner, an hour-long film for
BBC1, and her first feature film, Pound Shop Boys, co-commissioned
by the Film Council.

Behzti (Dishonour) was her second work for Birmingham and, like its
predecessor, has been published by Oberon Books.

The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester is one of several
organisations keen to work with her and Murray, the artistic director,
had commissioned a piece which she was expecting to start work on
once Behzti was running.

"She has enormous warmth and compassion and understanding and
she's very funny.

"What is interesting from any playwright from a closed society that we
don't know is how she depicts that society with a richness and
humanity and makes the connections between that society and our
society. She's certainly one of the best young writers I've read."

Murray said he hoped the cancellation would not deter her as a writer.
"I'm frightened if this in any sense stunts her development," he said.


o o o o

[7]

The Independent
21 December 2004

BEHZTI, BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE
GRIPPING AND ESSENTIAL: AN OFFENSIVE YET SEARING COMEDY

By Helen Cross
How 'The Birmingham Post' reviewed the play

This new play by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti has apparently already caused
huge offence and outrage.

If you didn't know that before you get into the auditorium then there's a
written quote given out at the door from senior members of the Sikh
community, and a Tannoy announcement to confirm it. After such a
build-up, you're expecting quite a shock, and this terrific new play
doesn't disappoint.

It is offensive, and furious and bloodthirsty and angry in all the right
places. Set mainly in the Gurdwara, the Sikh place of worship, this
searing comedy features rape, abuse, murder, violence - while still
managing to be hugely funny, touching and tremendously important.

Directed sharply by Janet Steel and brightly designed by Matthew
Wright, this play is much more mature and impressive than Kaur
Bhatti's earlier Behsharam (Shameless). Braver, edgier and less
frantically funny, this is particularly searing when pressing not only the
bruise of religious hypocrisy but also the hidden wounds of female
aggression, violence and despair. The actors rise effortlessly to the
passion of the material and Shelley King gives a blistering
performance as elderly incontinent Balbir, confined to a wheelchair
and raging against the injustices of her community and her life with
podgy daughter Min.

Yasmin Wild is touching as Min, a tender heart who longs to sing and
dance and who becomes so trapped by duty and expectation that she
is set to internally combust with energy and passion. Madhav Sharma
gives a cool, commanding performance as the corrupt patriarch Mr
Sandhu, a man who has piously found his own wicked way of coping
with the conflict between duty and desire.

The best drama takes risks, kicks out and offends, and the best
writers expose hypocrisy and pretence where they find it. Gripping and
essential.

o o o o

[8]  [Script of the Key scene]

The Independent
21 December 2004

 AN OFFENSIVE ACT?

The issue of artists' freedom to scrutinise religion flared up again
yesterday after the Birmingham Repertory Theatre cancelled a play
following violent Sikh protests. But for any debate to be informed, it
needs the facts. So here we publish the key scene from Behzti, the
work at the centre of the furore

Min is the frumpy daughter of Balbir Kaur. In this extract from Behzti -
Dishonour - we find mother and daughter heading towards the local
Sikh temple, the gurdwara, where Balbir is intent on marrying off Min
with the help of Mr Sandhu. An apparently respectable local dignitary,
he is reputed to keep a list of suitable local youths for the community's
young women to wed. But he has a record of sexual abuse and rape.
Two other women, Polly Dhodhar and Teetee Parmar, know of Mr
Sandhu's vices but are complicit in concealing them - whatever the
cost to Min.

TEETEE: Here comes the bride.

MIN: Mother ...

BALBIR: Not now ducks, we're talking about you, not to you!

She chuckles. MIN approaches BALBIR.

MIN: Please mother...

TEETEE and POLLY notice MIN's bloodstained shalwar (trousers).

I don't quite know how to speak this ...

POLLY: Cursed girls and ladies do not come to God's house at that
time of the month!

MR SANDHU approaches from the distance, but remains unseen by
MIN and BALBIR.

BALBIR: For shitter's sake ... stupid girl!

MR SANDHU makes sure that POLLY and TEETEE see him.

POLLY: You should not have brought this disrespectful buffalo here,
Bhanji.

TEETEE: Is it your intention to insult God?

POLLY: So much behzti. Nasty filthy dog!

TEETEE: Maybe it is up to us to teach her, Pollyji. For all our sakes.

MIN: But it's not my time.

TEETEE and POLLY drag MIN over so that she has her back to
BALBIR. They show her mother the stain.

POLLY: Look at your dishonourable daughter, Bhanji.

TEETEE: Importing her dirty monthly blood into the gurdwara.

MR SANDHU discreetly exits. The ladies hold MIN firmly by each arm
as if she were a criminal.

MIN: I haven't. Honest to God I haven't...

POLLY: Liar, liar pants on fire.

BALBIR: There must be some explanation ... perhaps she has the
excitement because of the wedding ...

MIN: There's something mother ... I have to say. Privately.

BALBIR: A bride has no secrets from her bacholan.

MIN: What?

BALBIR: My friends are also your mothers.

TEETEE: There are no excuses for this unwelcome patch of red.

MIN breaks away from the ladies, in acute distress.

MIN: Please. I don't know what to do.

TEETEE: You are all muddled up.

MIN: No ... I'm not...

TEETEE and POLLY move towards MIN.

BALBIR: Keep your eyes on the medal, Maninder. That bronze disc
you so merit.

POLLY: Shut up Bhanji. You leave this to us.

MIN moves away from the ladies.

MIN: Stay away from me, you ... cows.

BALBIR: Maninder!

POLLY: Such filth is coming out of her mouth.

BALBIR: Do not be hard on her ... please ... she does not understand
the ways of usual people.

TEETEE: Then it is our duty to explain ... what is required of her under
this roof.

The ladies move closer to MIN. Frightened, she turns away from
them, but they carry on a menacing advance towards her. Suddenly
she makes a run for it, but POLLY swiftly grabs her. They tussle.

BALBIR: Min ... we must realise ... it is occasionally necessary to
follow a series of twisty side roads before one gets onto the motorway.

TEETEE joins POLLY and they start to beat and kick MIN. She cries
out in pain. TEETEE drags her over to BALBIR who is close to tears.

TEETEE: Your turn Bhanji ...

BALBIR: It may appear harsh, but there are some ways of the world
that you and I have to understand ...

BALBIR weakly slaps MIN round the face.

To adhere to ...

She slaps her again.

To get used to ...

There are shouts of "gundhee kuthi" (dirty bitch) and "behsharam"
(shameless) from the ladies as they continue to beat up MIN. MR
SANDHU enters. TEETEE takes off her chooni (scarf) and gags MIN
with it.

SANDHU: Stop this at once!

TEETEE and POLLY turn to face MR SANDHU.

We are not animals. Please try and maintain some decorum.

MIN remains on the floor, gagged, in a heap. MR SANDHU beholds
her sadly.

All individuals make unforced errors.

BALBIR: Poor child, she has never recovered from the behzti of her
father.

TEETEE: Must have inherited it.

POLLY: And you with your toilet trouble. None of it helps.

BALBIR: It doesn't.

SANDHU: I have a suggestion that may put a silver lining on this
cloudy business.

MR SANDHU whispers in BALBIR's ear. TEETEE and POLLY bring
MIN over to BALBIR and MR SANDHU.

MIN stands before them as though she is a pupil who has been sent
to see the headmaster.

BALBIR: Dear Maninder, there is something ... there is the chance
that something useful can emerge ...

MIN shakes her head vigorously.

All of a sudden my bladder feels full to the brim.

POLLY takes BALBIR's arm.

POLLY: Beerji, I fear her mummy's presence is fuelling her insolent
manner.

SANDHU: Thank you for your kindness Polly Bhanji.

MIN makes desperate noises. POLLY leads BALBIR out. MIN'S
getting increasingly upset. TEETEE unties the chooni.

MIN: (Screams) I want my mother!

TEETEE: First you have to apologise to Mr Sandhu.

MIN points at MR SANDHU.

MIN: He put himself inside me. (Indicates her vagina) Here ... and he
felt me ...

TEETEE: You are expected to say sorry.

MIN: He knows what he did to me. And so do you. And so does God.
And you can break every bone in my body and defile me further and
bury me here and we'll all still know. Because that's what happened.
That's the truth.

TEETEE: (Shouts) Just say it!

MR SANDHU starts to cry.

SANDHU: What is a man to do? Then again she cannot help being a
temptress. Perhaps I am at fault for being so easily enticed.

MIN attempts to run out, but TEETEE restrains her. There is a
struggle which eventually TEETEE wins. She holds MIN around her
neck. She drags her back to face MR SANDHU.

TEETEE: Say sorry you buffalo!

MIN: I won't.

TEETEE: Do it!

MIN: Never. I never will.

TEETEE: Does Balbir Bhanji like pain?

MIN: No... you cow... no!

TEETEE: Does she like to be hit and punched and scratched and all
her clothes taken off?

TEETEE pulls her hair hard. MIN starts to cry.

One little word.

MIN is in agony.

My sons will fuck her up the arse till she bleeds a river of blood.

MIN sobs.

Hurry up.

MIN: (Whispers) Sorry...

TEETEE releases MIN, she falls over in front of the desk. TEETEE
goes over to SANDHU. Tearful and emotional, she spits on his feet.

TEETEE: She's yours.

TEETEE exits.

SANDHU: Are you hurt?

No response. MIN stares at the floor.

The first time there is bound to be some pain. It will get better.

Silence.

You remind me of him so much. I was unable to help myself. I adore
you, you see - just as I loved your father. So damn madly. He was
always scared of our passion. Embarrassed. And that's why he went
the way he did. He broke my heart. But now he has come back to me,
through you. (A beat) Would you like a sweetie?

MIN shakes her head.

Have this then.

He takes the BeeGees CD out of his pocket and hands it to her.

There is something I must ask you.

MIN looks up.

I just mentioned to your mother ... I was wondering if ... if ... you would
like to marry me? When we are husband and wife there will be no
need for all this.

Long silence.

MIN: (Slowly) You lied.

SANDHU: Why don't you take some time to think about it?

SANDHU goes to exit.

MIN: You've done this before haven't you?

SANDHU: Yes ... yes I have.

MR SANDHU exits. MIN beholds the CD. She attempts to hum
'Emotions' but cannot. The only noise that comes out of her mouth is
atonal and off key. She tries to move about, but her stiff, tired body
won't go anywhere or do anything. Exhausted, MIN slumps on to the
floor. TEETEE comes back in.

TEETEE: (Gruff) Sometimes buffalo girl, you have to make a
sacrifice. For the good of everyone, you realise?

No response.

You want some tea?

No response.

Sweet milky tea helps.

TEETEE goes to get the tea. BALBIR enters and approaches MIN.

BALBIR: Did he pop the question?

MIN nods.

And you are alright?

No response.

Was there something you wanted to tell me?

MIN: There's nothing.

BALBIR: Speak for shitter's sake.

MIN: Doesn't matter any more.

BALBIR: So you are happy to marry him?

No response. TEETEE comes back with a cup of tea for MIN.

I want you to be happy. Besides, he hasn't got much longer on this
earth. You'll end up with the sort of bank balance that will attract a fine
young specimen.

TEETEE eyes BALBIR coldly.

TEETEE: Quiet now Bhanji.

MIN: You have to sign Elvis' sheet mother.

BALBIR: I forgot about that shitter.

MIN takes the sheet out of her pocket. She struggles over to BALBIR
and gives her the sheet, which BALBIR duly signs.

Yes, we will be alright now. Everything will be alright. You go and get
things ready Maninder. I'll wait here.

MIN goes to exit. TEETEE holds out the cup of tea to her.

TEETEE: It's finished.

No response.

You'll be going home soon.

TEETEE reaches out to MIN. But MIN strikes her arm and the tea
goes flying. MIN exits.

BALBIR: Forgive her, she has been a boil waiting to erupt.

TEETEE: She's braver than she looks.

BALBIR: Funny how things turn out. I, for one, was set on the list ...
but such things do not allow for plain old-fashioned attraction. I didn't
know she had it in her ... but perhaps she's more of a chip off the old
block than I gave her credit for. Don't be perturbed by her demeanour.
She's shocked I know, she's come over all strange... all because she
can't believe her own bloddy bollocks. She came looking for a fish and
caught a bloddy whale. Perhaps I'll be the one asking my son-in-law
for his list.

TEETEE: (Flat) There is no list.

BALBIR: What?

TEETEE: No fucking list.

BALBIR: (Shocked) Bhanji?

TEETEE: You stupid old cow.

BALBIR: Of course there is a list. Mr Sandhu told me ... he talked to
me ...

TEETEE: Did he ever show it to you?

BALBIR: No.

TEETEE: Did you ever ask to see it?

BALBIR shakes her head.

BALBIR: You're being silly.

TEETEE: It doesn't exist.

BALBIR: You're lying ... Teetee?

No response. BALBIR's getting more agitated.

Why would he say there was one when there wasn't?

What reason?

TEETEE: Why do you think?

BALBIR is paralysed with shock.

So that girls go up and see him. So he can force them.

And boys sometimes. He likes to rape people.

BALBIR: No he wouldn't ... he would never do that ... you said he is a
gentleman...

TEETEE: I didn't.

BALBIR: You know he is ... we all know him ...

TEETEE: He did it to your girl.

BALBIR: You bloody liar. He loves Min and she will grow to love him.
They fancy each other.

TEETEE: (Screams) Is that what you think of your daughter, you sick
bitch?

BALBIR: Why are you doing this Teetee? Why are you saying such
evilness?

TEETEE: It's true.

BALBIR: How do you know?

TEETEE: (Flat) Because he did it to me.

BALBIR takes this in.

Right over there.

TEETEE points to a corner.

BALBIR: No ... no ... this is not ... is not feasible ... you are trying to
trick me and confuse me ...

TEETEE isn't listening. She points again. She speaks in a matter of
fact fashion.

TEETEE: They stripped me first and covered my mouth. Then he bent
me over and pulled my hair. He was young then so he had better
control. Your Mr Sandhu went inside me and took what was human
out of my body. My mother wept salty tears while she watched.
Afterwards she beat me till I could not feel my arms or legs. Then she
turned to me and said, now you are a woman, a lady. Now you are on
your own, behsharam.

BALBIR: I told her to go in because he said there was a list.

TEETEE: They must have left you out Bhanji.

BALBIR: So you ... you stood by ... while I sent my Min ...

TEETEE: Yes...

BALBIR: But you ... you beat her ... you said she was at fault ...

TEETEE: I do my duty

BALBIR: You made me hit her.

TEETEE: You did that yourself.

BALBIR lunges at TEETEE. She misses her pathetically and lands on
the floor.

BALBIR: (Fearful) It couldn't happen ... not before my eyes ... like this
...

TEETEE: It just did.

BALBIR: You let it ... you made it ...

TEETEE: I tried to warn you Bhanji.

BALBIR: You made me...

TEETEE: That's what passes.

BALBIR becomes breathless, it's as if she is having a panic attack.

I am sorry you were not aware.

TEETEE gets up to exit. Distressed, BALBIR shouts after her.

BALBIR: Where are you going?

TEETEE: Home. In a little while.

BALBIR: (Screams vehemently) This business isn't finished. You don't
do that to my girl ... and just go home ... you don't ... you can't ...

TEETEE stands at exit. BALBIR crumbles.

(Despairing) What will happen to her now?

TEETEE: (Cold) Same as the rest of us ...

TEETEE exits. BALBIR breaks down. She cries out through her tears.

BALBIR: No. Never... never!

BALBIR sobs her heart out.

Reproduced with the permission of Oberon Books,
www.oberonbooks.com

o o o o

[9]

The Independent
22 December 2004

CAN OFFENCE BE AVOIDED IN THIS LIFE? THE QUESTION THE SIKHS SHOULD BE ASKING IS NOT DOES THIS PLAY INSULT US, BUT ARE THE CLAIMS OF THIS PLAY TRUE? By Arnold Wesker

In the dark days surrounding Muslim hysteria over Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses, the usually intelligent Roy Hattersley got his knickers in a twist writing in The Independent. "A free society," he wrote, "does not ban books. Nor does it allow writers and publishers to be blackmailed and intimidated". However, he went on to say that The Satanic Verses should not go into paperback because, in his opinion, a real offence had been caused to Muslims. But an offence is an offence whether in hard or paperback. The important question is: can offence be avoided in this life?

I had to give thought to this question when writing three of my plays. There is a speech in my play Shylock, in which the Shylock of my imagination, a Renaissance Jew, considers the reasons why Abraham needed to invent God. Does the concept of "inventing God" offend believers?

Caritas is about a 14th-century anchoress who, after three years of immurement waiting for divine revelation which did not come, declares, as many have done, "there is no God". Who will take offence? The very title of the third play, When God Wanted a Son, might be considered irreverent; it's also a play in which a character explores the question of what and who can be ridiculed by humour. He concludes: "... all of them are game for ridicule if they can be seen to be in love with or intoxicated by: the martyr, her sacrifice; the freedom fighter, his anger; the missionary, his zeal; the educator, her cleverness; and those in pain, their suffering ... I'm a puritan. I believe everything has to be earned, and all those who engage in altruism and agony should do so with reluctance. Anyone caught enjoying it should be punished with ridicule..."

Offence can be divided into three categories: gratuitous, calculated, and unavoidable. Gratuitous offence is rooted in ignorance, and is linked with mindless violence. Calculated offence describes itself , the intention is clear and aims to achieve a defined result - hurt: spitting at someone's feet to show contempt for them; daubing a swastika on a Jewish grave; shredding a nation's flag as an expression of disapproval for their internal or foreign actions. Those two categories - as all categories - overlap, and are comparatively easy to deal with. The third, which concerned the Rushdie - and now the Behzti - affair, is less so.

Inherent in the normal conduct of human affairs is an unavoidable risk that how we legitimately behave and what we say and write may cause offence to others. It is an inescapable hazard of living and must be considered a sign of intellectual and emotional maturity when accepted. Accepting that other people's views and actions are an inescapable hazard doesn't mean we must not argue with or attempt to change them within the law, but it does mean we cannot leap up with outrage every time such an offence occurs and call for the perpetrator to die or for what is perpetrated to be censored.

Consider all that can offend. Fashion designers may be offended by those they consider badly dressed; much of what is on television offends a certain kind of sensibility; some unbelievers find the notion of God offensive to their intellect; some have expressed offence at what they consider the puerile vision of paradise described in the Koran; the novelist, Fay Weldon, views the Koran as offensive to Jews, Christians and women. As a Jew I'm not at ease with certain Christian writings, and as a humanist I'm not entirely comfortable with some of the utterances in the Bible! But we do not call for the death of the badly dressed or for the burning of the Koran or the Bible.

The knottiest of the problems is blasphemy. The question is not: "What is blasphemy?" but "Is blasphemy a right?" Blasphemy falls into the same three categories as "offence": gratuitous (and most of us are guilty of that each time we exclaim "Jesus Christ!"); calculated, and unavoidable.

I share my Shylock's suspicion that Abraham invented God to keep the anarchic Jews in control. Unavoidably my suspicion right blasphemes, because it denies claims that the texts of the Bible, Gospel and Koran are divinely inspired. I can be argued with or shunned; a devout artistic director of a theatre can decline to put on my play, but I cannot be sentenced to death nor held a prisoner in my own land.

This was the position in which Salman Rushdie was placed. Worse, as Fay Weldon described it, he was a prisoner of Iran in his own land. That was a new frontier of political madness that, I fear, was never fully comprehended. The Rushdie dilemma faded without resolution, with the result that a censoring has taken over a burning - a young playwright's work is being withdrawn from a major regional theatre. Ominous!

Let me not be misunderstood. Ask me, along with Voltaire, to stand at the door of the church, the synagogue, or the mosque to defend them against marauders and I will be there. But it is the year 2004. The Age of Reason has profoundly shaped me. The loveliest men and women have thought and died for my right to live and breathe the free air of reason. Now a young colleague, who has chosen the art of theatre to explore the truth of her experience, must think twice about her belief that art is where one can courageously pose dangerous questions. The question the Sikhs should be asking is not does the play Behzti insult us, but are the claims of this play true?

We are here not dealing with "a Muslim" or "a Sikh" but with "a type" identified throughout history as "a zealot". Dr Hesham el Essawy, head of the Islamic Society for The Promotion of Religious Tolerance, writing in The Independent's "Faith and Reason" column (in July 1989), all those years ago, stated: "The manner in which we conduct such dialogue is also important. And how should this be? In goodness, gentleness and tolerance, says the Koran. 'Your job is to pass the message along. Whether they believe or not is none of your concern,' God said to His Messenger in the Koran ... 'It is what you do with your belief that should concern one, not the belief itself ... The test of your beliefs, whatever they may be, is in how you treat me...' "

Such thinking is foreign to the zealot's mind. The zealot helped carve up many a dissenting saint; placed faggots on the fire that burned poor Joan; slaughtered the Russian peasant who stood in the way of commune-ism; lynched blacks in the southern states of America; marched Jews to the gas chambers; murdered the intellectuals of Bangladesh; mocked and murdered Chinese scholars who were sent to till the fields in the name of a cultural revolution; burned a book in Bradford; flew planes into the Twin Towers; and most recently, in Birmingham, censored a play.

We are here dealing with a special mentality that cannot bear deviation from its own perceptions and beliefs, a mentality which has existed like the weed since Adam. It has named itself many different names at different times, and, like the weed, it is rooted forever in the way of a world that will always need weeding.

The writer's two new plays, 'Groupie' and 'Longitude', are planned for the 2005/6 season in London


_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Buzz on the perils of fundamentalist politics, on matters of peace and democratisation in South Asia. SACW is an independent & non-profit citizens wire service run since 1998 by South Asia Citizens Web: www.sacw.net/ SACW archive is available at: bridget.jatol.com/pipermail/sacw_insaf.net/

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