Parv Bancil was a British-Asian playwright and actor.
Life and career
Parveen Singh Bancil was born in Tanzania in 1967, where his mother died when he was two years old. The family moved to London. He began writing plays in 1985.
HAC period
In 1986 aged 19, Bancil joined Hounslow Arts Co-op. One of four professional British Asian theatre companies at the time, HAC was the only one to be telling stories from a 2nd generation British Asian perspective. While most were writing about partition, or leaving their homeland, Parv Bancil was writing about his world, and tackling issues that were affecting British Asian youth, such as gang culture, drugs, crime and identity. From 1986 to 1989 he wrote four plays: Curse Of The Dead Dog, How's Your Skull Does It Fit, Kings and Bad Company. And he quickly gained a reputation as a dynamic, uncompromising and controversial writer, long before it was fashionable. He also acted in many plays, was the founder member of One Nation Under A Groove Innit,, was one half of a comic double act called The Khrai Twins, based on two bumbling drunken Southall gangsters, and a member of a comedy trio called the Sycophantic Sponge Bunch. He was also part of a spoof rock band called The Dead Jalebies. Formed in 1987, they toured nationally and opened for Asian Dub Foundation in 1991 at the Camden Underworld. They also supported the Voodoo Queens in 1993.
''Nadir''
In 1991 he was the recipient of a BBC Radio 4 Young Playwright Award for his play Nadir, about a young second generation Asian man fresh out of prison. It was produced and directed by Frances-Anne Solomon, and performed by actors Rita Wolf, Nina Wadia, Neran Persaud and Ravinder Gill. "I wrote a play for BBC Radio set in the near future when Britain was being run by an extreme right-wing government. Everyone had to swear allegiance to the country and if they didn't adhere to British culture they were not welcome. The BBC tried to ban it until four producers stood by me and put their necks on the line for it. The critics said it was laughable, that it would never happen. But now we have an immigration policy and people do have to swear allegiance to the flag."
''Ungrateful Dead''
By this point HAC had disbanded. But in 1993 Bancil wrote Ungrateful Dead, a play about a young Sikh man's descent into a world of gangs, violence and drugs. The play had a huge impact on audiences, and lead to a residency at The Royal Court Theatre.
''Papa Was A Bus Conductor''
In 1995 Bancil wrote Papa Was A Bus Conductor, a comedy satire about a dysfunctional family that was an early flowering of the British Asian comedy boom that spawned Goodness Gracious Me. It was his first play to receive a TimeOut Critics Choice. And it was the first of its kind to spark a trend for a whole spate of Asian comedy that followed over the next 10 years.
''Crazy Horse''
Bancil's next two plays were to define him as one of the "In Yer Face" writers that dominated the 90s. In 1997 he wrote Crazy Horse. It follows Jas, a young man trying to deal with the death of his mother by losing himself in a world of petty crime, until a tragic accident forces an estranged father and son to confront each other, but with sinister consequences. It was developed through 'Wild Lunch' with Sarah Kane and was directed by Vicky Featherstone, and received another Time Out Critics Choice.
''Made In England''
The following year Bancil then wrote Made In England, initially commissioned as a 15-minute piece by the Red Room. It was first performed as a full-length play in October 1998. Set against the backdrop of the music industry and "cool Britannia", it looked at the idea of trading your cultural identity for success. This play received Time Out Critics Choice twice.
Later work
Bollywood Or Bust a farcical comedy, and Recall, a combined dance theatre piece with Darshan Singh Bhullar, followed. The next few years saw Papa and Made In England re staged and Bancil also began to become known as a cultural commentator, writing articles for magazines and newspapers, and often contributing to radio and television debate. He also began to write and present TV documentary and venture into film and screen writing. 2007 saw another collaboration with Bhullar for Find Me Amongst The Black. And from 2008–2009 he was on an attachment with The Soho Theatre. In 2010 he had two new stage plays, Dead Leaves and Rude Boy, ready to go into production. After taking a year out to study film-making, Bancil began writing screenplays. He also became known as a cultural commentator. In 2008 he asked "what have multicultural arts policies done for us?" in a piece for The Guardian.
