Mad, Sad and Bad Jun 23, 2009
Meera Syals Sad return to Edinburgh ... "I love these chairs," says actress and author Meera Syal ... " OpulentHaving performed many times on the Edinburgh Fringe, this is hardly Syal's first visit to the Scottish capital. The opulent environs she now finds herself in, however, are somewhat removed from the ones she encountered in her early years in the business. "I was thinking about that while driving up today," she nods. Rubin Varla, Meera Syal and Nitin Gantra with Leena Dhingra (in coffin)... (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Life is beautiful Jun 18, 2009
(from left) Aidan McArdle, Luke Ward-Wilkinson, Samuel Barnett, Layton Williams, Meera Syal, Sophie Ash and Olivia Colman ... " With those words, we dissolve a decade into the past, where we meet teenage Simon (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) and his louder-than-life sitcom family - mum Debbie (Olivia Colman), dad Andy (Aidan McArdle), sister Ashlene (Sophie Ash) and blind aunty Haley (Meera Syal). Over the road is Simon's best friend, Kyle (Layton Williams), who lives with his mother, the trampy Reba... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Breaking barriers Feb 25, 2009
He saw me on stage as King Arthur, so now he believes that when I leave the house I am going to the stage to ride a horse and sing a song, says Bhaskar, who is married to actress Meera Syal (whom he worked with on Goodness Gracious Me and also The Kumars at No.42 in which she played his characters grandmother. . (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Stars win grants reprieve for high-profile theatres Feb 2, 2008
The annual National Student Drama Festival in Yorkshire was threatened with losing its entire arts council funding, but its graduates include Stephen Fry and Meera Syal. Another constellation of actors and directors spoke up for Bristol's Old Vic, one of the oldest theatres in the country. (Guardian Unlimited)
The final reckoning Jan 14, 2008
Actors Pete Postlethwaite, Meera Syal and Simon Russell Beale have all either starred in it as students or led its seminars, as have playwright Mark Ravenhill and directors Stephen Daldry and Phyllida Lloyd. Which is why, every year, festival director Holly Kendrick and her team are deluged with applications from students desperate to bring their productions to Scarborough, and to its audience, made up of both their peers and of professional actors and directors, or to take part in one of the... (Guardian Unlimited)
Kureishi accuses BBC of censorship Apr 20, 2007
The author Hanif Kureishi today accused the BBC of giving in to terrorism for the corporation s decision not to broadcast its reading of a short story about the killing of a hostage. The BBC said that it had chosen to postpone the reading of Hanif Kureishi s Weddings and Beheadings because the timing was inappropriate. (Times Online)
Faithful fans achieve quest for new Tolkien Apr 19, 2007
When the shops opened in London yesterday, Marcus Harrison and Richard Hayward achieved something special in the annals of fandom. Not for them the camaraderie of camping out for concert tickets, a Playstation or the latest Harry Potter. (Times Online)
- Meera Syal: I just want to please my parents Apr 18, 2007
Meera Syal blazed her way to the top, winning fame and an MBE. But, as she prepares to star in a new comic play about Asian family life, she tells Zoe Williams why the doors are closing once again on ethnic minorities ... I think of Meera Syal as a kind of Eddie Izzard ... Meera Syal was born in 1961, and grew up near Wolverhampton, lying on her bed daydreaming about leaving town. (Guardian Unlimited)
Newcomer competes with heavyweights for Orange Prize Apr 18, 2007
This week: Anita and Me by Meera Syal. Most Read. (Times Online)
Lessing is listed for international Booker Apr 15, 2007
She has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize over the past three decades, but the prestigious award for British and Commonwealth authors has always gone to someone else. Yesterday, at the age of 87, Doris Lessing was nominated for the ultimate accolade, the international version of the Man Booker prize for fiction, one of the most eminent events in the literary calendar. (Times Online)
Anita Desai, Meera Syal to join ranks with Shakespeare Feb 8, 2007
LONDON: Indian-origin novelist and children's author Anita Desai and NRI writer and comedian Meera Syal may join the ranks of renowned authors, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, recommended for the school curriculum in Britain ... Desai and 45-year-old Meera Syal who appeared in the comedy Goodness Gracious Me, are now part of a recommended group of authors whose work speaks with an 'authentic voice' about other cultures. (Daily News & Analysis)
Young achivers: author-filmmaker Meera Syal » Feb 8, 2007
Meera Syal was born in 1963 near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands ... Meera Syal also works as a journalist and is a regular contributor to The Guardian. (Hindustan Times, India)
Syal finds pride of place in UK schools Feb 8, 2007
Meera Syal in UK schools: Indians Abroad - HindustanTimes ... Meera Syal in UK schools. (Hindustan Times, India)
Comic Syal joins school book list Feb 6, 2007
Meera Syal joins the set text set. Meera Syal is now on the list of approved secondary school authors ... Meera Syal, comedian and writer, is joining the ranks of authors recommended for study for young teenagers. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Racism row: UK police to probe emails Jan 17, 2007
British Asian author and actress Meera Syal has strongly criticized Britain's Channel 4. Syal, who is a leading opinion maker among the South-Asian community in the United Kingdom and a vocal supporter of the rights of Asian women, said, "There is a very thin line between what is entertainment and a vile spectacle and I think we are in that area now.". (NDTV.com)
NRI actress begins crusade for Shilpa Jan 17, 2007
Leading the brigade of protestors is NRI television actress Meera Syal of The Kumars At No 42 fame who has raised a strong voice against the racist attack. Forty-five-year-old Syal is an author, playwright, actress and comedian, was made an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 1997, largely due to her efforts in supporting the rights. (Moneycontrol.com)
