About Sharmila

Sharmila Chauhan – Sharmila is a screenwriter, playwright and prose writer: Her work is often a transgressive meditation on love, sex and an exploration of the diasporic experience. She is particularly interested in the intersection of sex, race and gender.

She has had two short films produced and written two features: Most recently, her short film Oysters – an exploration of desire in the face of grief – was commissioned by Film London and her feature Mother Land – is currently being developed by Cinestan International and has been long-listed for the Sundance Writers’ Lab.

Her plays include: The Husbands (an exploration of polyandry and matriarchy in India) which toured nationally and completed its run at London’s Soho theatre (Kali and Pentabus Theatre), Born Again/Purnajanam (Southwark Playhouse (exploring class, religion and female power), Kali Theatre) and well as 10 Women (body image and women with Bethan Dear, Avignon Festival, France)

Shortlisted for the Asian New Writer award. Sharmila’s short stories have been published widely in print and online. She is also currently working on her novel Rasa.

Sharmila also has a degree in pharmacy and a PhD in clinical pharmacology from University College London. She lives in London with her husband, children and cat Tashi. http://www.sharmilathewriter.com Photos: bottom – Viola De, top – Kajal Nisha Patel

May 21, 2019May 26, 2019

News

Better In Bed!

I’ve got a reading of my new play: Be Better in Bed at the Vibrant Festival this Spring!

Focused and always ready for a challenge: Layla, doctor-married-three kids, is trying to ‘fix’ her dwindling sex life. Signing up to the ‘Be Better in Bed’ sex workshop, she meets three women each with widely different lifestyles.

Exploring polyamory, BDSM and pornography, these four women must navigate together what sexuality means to them as individuals and in their relationships. They are led by the enigmatic Sapphire, who tells them there isn’t anything they can’t learn about sex, if they just pay attention and practice, practice, practice…

Physical, brutally honest and funny, Better In Bed explores contemporary sexuality and intersectional feminism: asking bold questions around empowerment, desire, and the female gaze.

Vibrant festival
Finborough Theatre
Monday June 24th 7.30pm

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

afro-hair-beautiful-woman-bed-1982966

Cage

(part of Race Today, directed by Tian Glasgow, New Slang Productions in collaboration with Barbican Labs)

Rich Mix Bernie Grant (April 2019)

Cage is an immersive piece exploring empathy and race. This game show format explores the role of art in racial politics and how empathy can be used as a force for social change.

Jemima Yong

August 24, 2017

Teaching

Creative writing:

Sharmila also teaches playwriting and screenwriting courses at University level and adult education centres: most currently at City Lit.

She has also taught a module on Race and Gender in British Theatre at Theatre Academy London, University of Florida.

For mentoring and one-to-one sessions click here.

Schools / TiE.

Sharmila also runs theatre and screenwriting workshops in schools and works with TiE.

Most recently she was commissioned by the Migration Museum and Tamasha theatre for Corelli College, London called Nothing to Declare: exploration objects and trans-generational migration.

She is also working on the Barbican Box: a portable box filled with the ingredients for making and creating original theatre, visual art or music inspired by our world class arts programme. It is sent out across 40 secondary, SEN schools and FE colleges in east London with a national programme currently being piloted in Manchester.

August 24, 2017

Workshops

I am available to teach workshops including:

Writing short films Reading concept

Playwriting

Screenwriting

Finding Flow: This workshop will help you to find your voice and flow using deepening practices to help you to tap into your energies

and creativity. Using a combination of meditation, visualisation, breath and energy work (Kundalini and Tantra) – we will deepen our artistic practice and help to inspire, unblock and free the writer within. Whether you are new to writing or an experienced practioner, this workshop will help you to not only feel inspired and write better, but also equip you with some self-care techniques that will help you to move forward sustainably with your creative projects.

Writing Women – this workshop will provide a space to explore female characters, examining the common pitfalls and issues – helping you to sure up your own voice when it comes to writing female characters.

Crossing the Cultural Space – should writers be free to write about whatever culture they like? This one day workshop will provide the space and insights for writers to explore what it’s like to write about a culture that is not your own.

Negotiating cultural space – will provide the space and insights for writers, actors and directors to discuss being part of different cultural spaces.

Let’s talk about sex: this workshop will explore writing about sexuality, erotica and desire.

Unleashing your creativity! A workshop using workshopping and exercises to help you get started on a project or progress it if you’re stuck.

Self care for the artist: creativity needs care – this workshop will help to inspire creativity and self care ensuring longevity and robustness in your creative practice.

Please contract me on sharmilathewriter@gmail.com

August 24, 2017

1 to 1 sessions

I really enjoy working with writers on a 1 to 1 basis – helping writers and have a holistic and writer centred approach.

I will work with you and your process in a sustainable way to help you to create the best work possible.

I offer:

Dramaturgy
Script analysis
Story development
On-going mentoring and coaching

So whether you have a project already underway or are starting something new – we can find a way to help keep you and the project in synch and working together.

So if you need help with:

Ideas development
Character development
Deepening plotlines
Structure
Writers block
Self-care

Drop me a line at sharmilathewrter@gmail.com

I love to help creatives find their inspiration, refine their craft and create the work they want to see!

Sessions can be person or (in London) or carried out remotely. Sliding scale rates apply and discounts to former students.

June 15, 2016

The Morning Papers….

image1_John_Leyba

The Morning Papers is a collection of pieces about Prince. In April, Music lost a singer and musician, but we writers also lost a poet. Whether it was his characters, or his line by line precision and intimacy; Prince was every bit the alchemist of words as well as music. In this space writers were invited to talk about the artist, in whatever context they desired. Curated by Sharmila Chauhan.

Feat. Leone Ross, Rosamond S. King, Gemma Weekes, Nikesh Shukla, Salena Godden, Sunil Chauhan, Rajeev Balasubramanyam

Hosted on MediaDiversified. Read here.

February 26, 2015May 22, 2019

Plays

Female protagonists take centre stage in all my work. I’m particularly interested in the intersection of power, sex and gender roles.

Sharmila’s plays include:

The Husbands (an exploration of polyandry and matriarchy in India) which toured nationally and completed its run at London’s Soho theatre (Kali and Pentabus Theatre),
Born Again/Purnajanam (Southwark Playhouse (exploring class, religion and female power), Kali Theatre, Jan 2012),
Not Today’s Yesterday (co-written with Seeta Patel, 2017)
10 Women (body image and women with Bethan Dear, Avignon Festival, France, 2014)).

Currently, she is working on:

Be Better in Bed – Focused and always ready for a challenge: Layla, doctor-married-three kids, is trying to ‘fix’ her dwindling sex life. Signing up to the ‘Be Better in Bed’ sex workshop, she meets three women each with widely different lifestyles.
Exploring polyamory, BDSM and pornography, these four women must navigate together what sexuality means to them as individuals and in their relationships. They are led by the enigmatic Sapphire, who tells them there isn’t anything they can’t learn about sex, if they just pay attention and practice, practice, practice…

Physical, brutally honest and funny, Better In Bed explores contemporary sexuality and intersectional feminism: asking bold questions around empowerment, desire, and the female gaze.

Vibrant festival
Finborough Theatre
Monday June 24th 7.30pm CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Jemima Yong

Cage (Directed by Tian Glasgow) (Barbican Labs, Rich Mix, Bernie Grant) is an immersive piece exploring empathy and race. This game show format explores the role of art in racial politics and how empathy can be used as a force for social change.

Sharmila also teaches theatre workshops and work with TiE. Most recently she was commissioned by the Migration Museum and Tamasha theatre for Corelli College, London called Nothing to Declare: exploration objects and trans-generational migration.

Sharmila was also part of Tamasha’s writers group (Oct 2014), Royal Court’s Critical Mass (Autumn 2009), Tamasha Developing Artists (TDA) program (March 2012 and writers development programme with Kali theatre, 2008

Productions:

Click on the titles to find out more…

Not Today’s Yesterday (with Seeta Patel)

This work aims to open up conversation through a clever appropriation of whitewashed histories and give a voice back to lost histories and communities.
Not Today’s Yesterday offers audiences a chance to engage in the most important geo-political conversation of this decade.

REVIEWS 2017/2018

“An unmissable treat” http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/not-today-s-yes-the-lowry-st…

“An exceptional piece of political theatre that speaks volumes without a word being said on the stage” https://afronalysis.com/2017/04/19/review-not-todays-yesterday-the-lowry/

★★★★★ – “Not Today’s Yesterday is a poised and thoughtful work and a spectacular performance” http://broadwaybaby.com/shows/not-todays-yesterday/724811

★★★★★ – “This is outstanding, innovative, must-see dance”https://amp.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/adelaide-fringe/other-event…

The Husbands (dir Janet Steel)

National tour including: Plymouth, Leicester Curve, Soho Theatre London

Amidst female infanticide and decreasing girl population in India, the fictional community of Shaktipur returns to ancient systems of matriarchy and polyandry. The story follows Aya, head of this matriarchal village, on the morning of her third wedding — as she makes a discovery that could destroy everything she has built.

“Sharmila Chauhan’s The Husbands is a thought-provoking exploration of a fantastical matriarchal commune” Metro

“There’s a hint of Margaret Atwood in Chauhan’s fictional world, and a great deal of the intractable issues that gnaw away at feminists. …” Maddy Costa, Guardian

Rehearsals for The Husbands - Kali Theatre and Pentabus Theatre

Ten Women (co-written and dir by Bethan Dear)

Avignon Festival, France, July 2014. Produced by Jack Daw Theatre

10 women explore their relationships with their bodies.

Purnajanam / Born Again (dir Janet Steel)

Southwark Playhouse 2013.

Endless Light by Sayan Kent – directed by Elizabeth Freestone for Kali Theatre Company – Southwark Playhouse – 17 January 2012

Purnjanam/Born Again by Sharmila Chauhan – directed by Janet Steel – Kali Theatre Company – Southwark Playhouse – 14 Januarly 2012

In a city of transition and tradition, three liars, two lovers and a reluctant leader all desperately search for truth. As Mumbai burns, Purnjanam questions destiny, love and power, asking what must be destroyed for something new to be created.

12: (Dir Janet Steel), 2015

Shocked and moved by true stories of honour killings of young women in the UK where on average 12 such killings occur each year, twelve writers have collaborated to create a moving and poignant theatre event that celebrates and gives voice to these lost lives.

Staged readings:

Prodigal: Scratch reading – Bush Theatre – March 2016 – Part of Black Words – produced by ADF

A picnic hamper, a thermos of tea and some dolly mixture: Mother and Daughter are lost on a foggy heath searching for the Prodigal Son. As the mist thickens and grievances are aired,misconceptions become the map that guides them.

Roses, March 2015 – The Shed/ Temporary Space, National Theatre. Produced by Sphynx Theatre

Brand new work by four of the UK’s most exciting writers created exclusively for the Women Centre Stage Festival.

Set between Kenya and London, Roses is a dark tale of love, power and sex. Cast includes Ronke Adekoluejo, Ayasha Kala, Mark Theodore and Philip Edgerley.

A fantastic insight into the next generation of leading female protagonists by award-winning writers-to-watch Charlotte Josephine, Matilda Ibini, Sharmila Chauhan and Luke Barnes.

http://www.womencentrestage.co.uk/shows/event/6-sphinx-writers-group-future-voices

A Tale of Two Sisters: (dir Pooja Ghai) Rich Mix, March 2015.

Exploring the birth of the ‘modern’ sari as a representation of female emancipation; Shakti and Seva explores the relationship between society’s ‘good girl’ and her sexually free, autonomous sister.

When Spring Comes: (dir Dominic Hingorani), Commonwealth Club produced by Tamasha Theatre and South Asian Lit Fest.

A three generation story about the Ugandan exodus to the UK.

And also a number of scratch readings including Make and Model (Bush theatre, Nov 2014, Roses, Soho Theatre Jan 2015)

February 26, 2015November 17, 2016

Films

Sharmila has had two short films commissioned by Film London and written two features: Heart of the City (part of the Film London and Cinestan India Microschool 2015) and Mother Land.

Her short film Oysters – an exploration of desire in the face of grief – was shortlisted for the Kevin Spacey Foundation and her feature Mother Land – is currently being developed by Cinestan International and has been long-listed for the Sundance Writers’ Lab.

film london pic

Oysters (dir: Pratyusha Gupta, produced by Emma Duffy) – commissioned by Film London (2016)

Desire in the face of grief. When Sheena calls Javed for dinner, the attraction between them is palpable – but can they overcome the past that brings them together?

Oysters was also short listed for a Kevin Spacey Foundation award.

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Girl Like You… (dir. Rajinder Kochar, produced by X-Films) – commissioned by Film London (2015)

Explores a young woman’s sexual awakening.

Set in the face of today’s overtly sexualised culture; Girl Like You explores what happens when you step over the mark and who will judge you most.

See an excerpt here.

Make and Model (in pre-production, 2015)

Director: Billy Walsh

Producer: Jonathon Chambers

February 26, 2015July 1, 2016

Short Stories

Short story awards: Sharmila was shortlisted for the Asian Writer Short Story Award 2009 and 2012.

Oysters

The restaurant was a nice Italian on Poland Street. The type that got popular by word of mouth. She wore a pink dress, with thin straps and a flared skirt. He was pleased to see her face still had the same plumpness around the cheeks. The same darting eyes and ready smile…. Click here to read an extract of the story

Featured in 5 Degrees anthology and read at the launch eve at Bush Theatre, London !

BUY a copy

Oysters has also been adapted into a Short Film commissioned by Film London.

Peacock

Peacock Feather from http://seasweetie.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/peacock-feathers/

There it is. The jacket. Hanging on the side of the chair, glowing in the morning light. Iridescent blue, with a tinge of green; its color vibrates like a deep bass string. Read more….

Published by Pratilipi books!!

Unfinished

Rani died in her sleep. When I found her, the body was still warm. I stroked her head, marvelling at the quietness of her death. It was such a contrast to her illness. I wished I felt grateful that I hadn’t been there to see her go, but instead I felt cheated. I hoped that as she was pulled from this world, she had a moment to feel how much she had been loved.

Published in Word Masala a collection of contemporary asian writing.

WORD MASALA: Brings together widely published, finest, but grossly ignored non-resident South-Asian Diaspora authors, poets, artist and photographers.
Click here to buy a copy

happy birthday to me

Tiny Steps

You’re obsessed with my feet. Or so your father says. Yesterday he found you sleeping at the bottom of our bed; cheeks nestled inside my arches, hands cuddling my soles. He laughed and picked you up, took you downstairs.

But it’s this morning that you take your first steps. Perhaps your obsession was more an imbibing of knowledge. A learning by osmosis from my feet to yours. You walk; one foot planted firmly in front of the other. A tiny waver along your spine as you acquaint yourself with this new height. You look amazed, delighted in the world before you. I lie back on the sofa and watch, mesmerised. You point upstairs and say daddy and I nod. Normally your father would get you breakfast. But today he is still asleep. Perhaps he floats through the remnants of our argument. Negotiating the sludge of our incomprehensible emotions. Perhaps that’s why he sleeps so long….

Happy Birthday to Me, a collection of contemporary asian writing. (October 2010)

Silent Night

Sunshine sparkled through the grey afternoon. I sat in on the bench, wrapped in my own obliqueness. I was lost. I looked up at the clouds, at the tiny tapering ends, almost invisible. Was it an infinite haze of vapour droplets? I mused, watching as the black birds circled the pale billows. Suddenly the sun was gone; a cold hand on the shoulder of the transient warmth. I looked up pondering on how moistness in its most ethereal form could become so dull: how the radiance of the rivers, the energetic dancing of waves, all culminated in mournful grey.

The Asian Writer (Shortlisted for Asian New Writer Award 2009)

Day 15

I lie in bed willing my pulse to slow down, but my heart just pumps faster, my brain overflowing with blood. I force my eyes to shut and my mind to surrender to the blackness. Diving into the middle of the bed, I curl up into a ball. Foetal position.

Om Om Om. I chant.

I can’t go back to sleep.

Like a child on the eve of her birthday, I can only emulate slumber. My eyes snap open at every possible sound. Minutes pass as disjointed thoughts and dreams until, gradually, I give in to the uncontrollable rise of my consciousness.

Tell Tales Volume 2

See the navigator on the right to have read…

February 24, 2015

A Tale of Two Sisters

As part of my artist in residence at the Tagore centre – I’ll be having a staged reading of my play: A Tale of Two Sisters on Sunday 1st March at 3pm at Rich Mix.

Written by Sharmila Chauhan Directed by Pooja Ghai

Exploring the birth of the ‘modern’ sari as a representation of female emancipation; Shakti and Seva explores the relationship between society’s ‘good girl’ and

her sexually free, autonomous sister. Traversing 1800 Bengal, to modern day India – this piece charts the seminal history of the feminist movement in India as it begins in the Tagore household and asks what happens when a nation can not agree on what a woman is.

CAST:

Ravin Ganatra

Balvinder Sopal

Harvey Virdi