Manjinder Virk

A headshot of Manjinder Virk, a young British writer/director/actor with Indian heritage. She las long black hair and looks to the viewer with her head tilted to the left. She is wearing a brown jacket and a small silver necklace.

Coventry born, Manjinder Virk is an award winning writer/director/actor. She was recently one of the five finalists (out of 1275 playwrights) for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting for The Room.

 

As a filmmaker she has made ten short films including award winning, Out of Darkness (with Tom Hiddleston and Riz Ahmed), Things We Never Said (with Shazad Latif and Anjli Mohindra), Dekho (for Alzheimers Society) and two art installations films, The Living Room and Teenage Years for an art exhibition at The Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry – Stories That Made Us: Roots, Resilience and Representation.

 

As an actress, Manjinder has worked extensively in film, TV, theatre and radio. She played the lead role in Clio Barnard’s genre defying The Arbor, Peter Kosminsky’s BRITZ (Channel 4), and had many recurring roles in TV shows including Midsomer Murders, Shetland, Trigger Point, Bad Move and recently, Silent Witness. Manjinder is passionate about how the arts can help communities. She started acting at The Belgrade Youth Theatre, Coventry, which she acknowledges as the foundations for her love of acting and storytelling.

I am thrilled to be joining Underground Lights as a patron. We need theatre companies within the community that are safe, vibrant and creative spaces where everyone feels welcome. Drama and performing arts activities are known to improve mental health and wellbeing, they allow people to feel heard and be places of non judgement. Underground Lights is led for and by its members who are adults experiencing social disadvantage, homelessness and/or mental health issues. It’s an honour to support a company in my home town, Coventry that exists to make the Arts accessible to all!