Dame Meera Syal joins us to share the hilarious and heartwarming true stories that have shaped her life and work as one of Britain's most beloved comedy legends.

Growing up in the only Asian family in a West Midlands mining village, Meera Syal wanted to take the stage long before anyone was ready to listen. As one of the creators of Goodness Gracious Me she changed British comedy forever.

As the indomitable Granny Ummi she terrified the guests visiting The Kumars at Number 42. She’s topped the pop charts, been a Professor at Oxford, and written a musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber. She’s a Dame, a screenwriter, and the first British Asian novelist to enter the national curriculum. Young Meera always had the stories. Now she has the stage. From the wisdom her mother and aunties dispensed her grandfather’s attempts to arrange her marriage, her working life as an actress and writer, her journey to motherhood,and the changing attitudes towards women she has experienced over her career, Meera will share all. Funny, painful,and completely honest, this evening will stay with you long after.

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to drama and literature. In 2023, she was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship, its highest accolade, for her distinguished career on screen.  In 2024, she starred in The National Theatre’s production of a new play, A Tupperware of Ashes.