A Kind of People By Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti

Merit, Masks, and Microaggressions: The Quiet Violence in A Kind of People

Reza Shirmarz

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
(Source: The Guardian)

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti is a British playwright and screenwriter renowned for her bold storytelling and exploration of cultural identity, social justice, and personal trauma. Born into a working-class Sikh Punjabi family in Watford, England, Bhatti initially studied Chemistry at Bristol University but graduated with honors in Modern Languages. Before pursuing a career in writing, she held various jobs, including working in a hospital laundry, at a women’s refuge, as a waitress, actor, workshop leader, and carer. Her debut play, Behsharam (2001), broke box office records at Soho Theatre and Birmingham Rep. However, it was her second play, Behzti (2004), that brought her international attention. The play, which depicted a rape in a Sikh temple, sparked violent protests and led to the Birmingham Rep canceling its performances, forcing Bhatti into hiding due to death threats . Despite the controversy, Behzti won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2005. Bhatti's other notable works include Behud (2010), Khandan (2014), A Kind of People (2019), and Fourteen (2014). She has also written for television, contributing to shows like EastEnders, Hollyoaks, and The Archers, where she was part of the team that created the groundbreaking 'Helen and Rob' domestic violence storyline . In 2025, her adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s Marriage Material is set to be produced at the Lyric Hammersmith, and her new play Choir will open at Chichester Festival Theatre .

A Kind of People published
by Oberon Books (2020)

The play A Kind of People is a modern-day exploration of class, race, and societal expectations set in a city over two weeks in the autumn. It portrays the lives of Gary and Nicky Sinclair, a working-class interracial couple who strive to provide a better future for their children amidst systemic biases and cultural pressures. Gary, a skilled engineer, faces workplace discrimination and the sting of being passed over for a promotion in favor of a less qualified candidate, Des, due to racial prejudice disguised as professional judgment. Nicky, Gary’s supportive wife, works hard to juggle family responsibilities and her pub job while pushing their children toward academic success. Their closest friends and neighbors, Anjum, Mo, Karen, and Mark, each represent different cultural and social tensions. From Mo’s rigorous push for his son Zaki to succeed in exams to Anjum’s reconciliation of her British-Pakistani identity through faith, the characters wrestle with identity, belonging, and systemic inequities. The play’s pivotal moments occur during social gatherings where tensions rise, particularly when Gary’s manager, Victoria, visits their home. Victoria’s casual racism and patronizing demeanor expose the implicit biases of privilege and power. Gary’s confrontation with Victoria at work escalates into a dramatic act of defiance, which costs him his job but also empowers him to reclaim his dignity. Meanwhile, Nicky navigates the strain on their relationship as she contemplates their family's future and the sacrifices needed for their children’s success. A Kind of People examines the intersectionality of race, class, and cultural identity. This original play highlights the resilience and challenges of marginalized communities in modern Britain. It asks pressing questions about systemic inequalities and the price of conformity versus the courage to challenge the status quo. 

Royal Court Production, Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs, Credit: Manuel Halan

At its heart, A Kind of People is an exposé of the systemic power imbalances that define the lives of its characters. Gary Sinclair, a Black working-class man, becomes the emotional and ideological centerpiece of the play. His experiences at work, where he is overlooked for a promotion in favor of a less qualified white colleague, exemplify the insidiousness of institutional racism. This rejection, couched in the language of professionalism and meritocracy, highlights the performative nature of workplace equity. The microaggressions Gary endures, from his manager Victoria’s patronizing remarks about race to her drunken faux pas at a party, reveal the undercurrent of bias that continues to define his interactions with those in power. Gary’s confrontation with Victoria is a moment of cathartic defiance, but it is also one of profound loss. His decision to call out her racism and resign is both an act of self-respect and a step into precarious uncertainty. The play masterfully juxtaposes Gary’s dignity with the societal structures designed to erode it, asking whether resistance is worth the personal cost.

Royal Court Production, Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs, Credit: Manuel Halan

The intersectionality of identities is central to the play’s dramatic tension. While Gary faces racism in his workplace, his wife Nicky struggles with the pressures of providing for their family within the constraints of a class system that offers little upward mobility. As a white working-class woman, Nicky is caught between her loyalty to Gary and the societal pressures that compel her to prioritize survival over principles. Her pragmatic approach to life often clashes with Gary’s insistence on integrity, creating a layered depiction of how race and class intersect within a family dynamic. Anjum, Gary and Nicky’s friend and a British-Pakistani woman, adds another dimension to this exploration. Her decision to wear the hijab is not only an assertion of religious identity but also an act of reclaiming agency in a society that marginalizes her for both her faith and ethnicity. Anjum’s reflections on the insularity of immigrant communities and their strategies for survival contrast sharply with Nicky’s faith in the meritocratic promise of hard work. This tension underscores the different ways marginalized individuals navigate systemic oppression while maintaining their cultural identities.

Royal Court Production, Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs, Credit: Manuel Halan

Victoria, Gary’s manager, is one of the most compelling characters in the play, a liberal villain who epitomizes the dangers of unconscious bias. Victoria’s self-perception as a fair and progressive leader is repeatedly contradicted by her actions, from her patronizing small talk about “black culture” to her refusal to acknowledge Gary’s qualifications during the promotion process. Her drunken performance at the party, where she fetishizes and mocks Black culture, exposes the fragility of her liberal facade. Victoria’s inability to confront her own racism becomes the play’s most chilling indictment of privilege: she sees herself as impartial, but her actions perpetuate the very inequalities she denies. Victoria’s final interaction with Nicky further illuminates the pervasive nature of power imbalances. She reframes herself as a victim of Gary’s anger, and manipulates her position to maintain control over the narrative. This moment reinforces how privilege allows individuals like Victoria to deflect accountability, and weaponizes systems designed to protect marginalized groups against those very individuals.

Royal Court Production, Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs, Credit: Manuel Halan

The play also examines the dynamics of community and solidarity, revealing both their power and their limitations. Gary and Nicky’s circle of friends, including Anjum, Mo, Karen, and Mark, provides moments of humor, camaraderie, and collective resilience. Yet even within this community, differences in race, religion, and class create tensions that are not easily reconciled. Mo’s authoritarian approach to his son Zaki’s education, rooted in his experiences as a first-generation immigrant, contrasts with Nicky’s more nurturing parenting style. Karen’s bitterness over her failed marriage and sense of alienation reflects the emotional toll of societal expectations on women. The characters’ individual struggles reveal the fragility of their solidarity in the face of systemic pressures. Gary’s decision to leave his job isolates him from his family and friends, who question the practicality of his actions. Nicky, desperate to maintain stability for their children, is left to navigate her own disillusionment with Gary’s choices, highlighting the emotional cost of resistance in an unjust society.

Royal Court Production, Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs, Credit: Manuel Halan

At its core, A Kind of People is a meditation on the price of dignity in a world that denies it to so many. Gary’s defiance of Victoria and his refusal to continue working under a racist system are acts of courage, but they come at a cost—financial instability, familial strain, and social alienation. Nicky’s plea for Gary to prioritize their family’s future over his pride reflects the painful compromises many must make to survive. The play refuses to offer easy answers, instead confronting the audience with the brutal realities of systemic oppression and the sacrifices it demands. Bhatti’s A Kind of People is a dramatic tour de force, a play that holds a mirror to society and forces its audience to confront uncomfortable truths about privilege, power, and identity. Its characters are richly drawn, their struggles achingly familiar, and its themes urgently relevant. Through its unrelenting exploration of systemic inequities, the play challenges its audience to reckon with their own complicity in perpetuating these structures. Bhatti’s work is not only a call to action but also a testament to the resilience of those who fight for their humanity in the face of systemic oppression.