Britz
Manjinder
Virk plays Nasima
Describe
Nasima…
She’s a young, Bradford-born, Muslim woman, just getting to know
who she is, just starting at university where she’s training to
be a Doctor. She’s also very politically active and very savvy
about Britain’s foreign policy. She’s emotionally quite
vulnerable but she’s extremely passionate - she believes that
you can change things.
How
did you get yourself in to her mindset?
I did a lot of research and reading – not only on anti-terror
laws, but also about what’s happened to the Muslim community and
the alienation that’s felt. I’d already done quite a lot
of research for my part in Bradford Riots so I had a sense
before we started. It was strange because during the filming of Bradford
Riots July 7th happened. When you’re doing a scene and you
think, ‘Oh God, this is happening, in reality, somewhere else’
– that’s kind of unsettling. And so there was this strange
connection – I’d already started thinking about the bigger
picture, the Iraq war, what’s happened in Guantanamo Bay, so I
was already aware of those issues facing the Muslim community. And then
Britz came along - now I’m really aware.
It’s
quite heavy subject matter for someone who’s also done stand-up…
I have done some comedy, yes. I'm a writer as well and I did a stand-up
course because I was writing a sitcom – I wanted to see what it
was like. I’d done a one-woman show and I thought, ‘What
could be scarier than a one-woman show? – stand-up comedy!’
I did it for about a year - it’s a very different mindset trying
to find the humour in everything. I realised that I’m not a stand
up but it provided great insights for my writing and it was nice to
go in to that world which was so far from what I was used to.
What
are you writing at the moment?
I'm writing a film… and constantly missing my deadline so I really
need to stop saying that. And I've written a couple of shorts. I trained
in contemporary dance and performing arts. My jobs have been varied
and I like the fact that I can go in to acting, writing, comedy, drama…
physical theatre.
Did
you have any misgivings about signing up for a drama that may be controversial?
For me, it’s good to be involved in a film that has something
to say and is challenging perceptions. In that sense I think it’s
better to be involved in work that is actually contributing to a debate
in some way, as opposed to purporting the usual stereotypes and the
usual arguments. I found the story sad for the characters, but it is
important that the story raises questions and I hope focuses the debate.
I think that art can still contribute in some way as it is necessary
to ask the difficult questions.
Biography
– Manjinder Virk
Manjinder was born
in Coventry and has a BA (Hons) Performing Arts degree from De Montfort
University.
Since graduating
from University she has performed in dance, theatre and screen productions
including, in the theatre, the award-winning Teatro Biuro Podrozys’
physical theatre show Millenium Mysteries; the lead in Unsuitable
Girls (Lyric Hammersmith) after which Eastern Eye newspaper
dubbed her as one of the best new actresses in Britain; Time Out
fringe - winning verbatim show Come out Eli; Workers Writes,
directed by Rufus Norris at the Royal Court Theatre; and Hermia in A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry). She
also workshopped Complicite’s most recent production A Disappearing
Number with Simon McBurney.
Film and
television credits include Ghost Squad (Channel 4); Jack Rosenthal’s
Ready When You are Mr McGill (Working Title); Trial by
Jury (BBC); Green Wing (Channel 4); Child of Mine
(ITV); The Blue Tower (monkey in heaven) directed by Smita
Bhide; and Neil Biswas’ Bradford Riots (Channel 4) which
was nominated for best Television Drama at the 2007 South Bank Show
Awards.
This year
Manjinder will appear in Screen International magazine’s
‘Stars of Tomorrow’ feature.
Manjinder
is also a writer. Her first commission was a stage play called Glow
which toured nationally with Theatre Centre. Glow is also published
in an anthology of new plays which includes Roy Williams. She then went
on to write and star in Tonight I Write for BBC Radio 4, and
in 2004 she wrote and performed her one - woman show, Autobiography
of a Face at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, to great acclaim.
