The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced the complete casting for its upcoming production of ‘The Empress’ by the renowned British Indian playwright Tanika Gupta MBE, which will open in the Swan Theatre early next month.
This timely and evocative play, now on the GCSE syllabus, will offer a fresh perspective on Britain’s relationship with its imperial past and how it continues to shape its identity today.
Set in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the play tells the story of the sixteen-year-old Rani Das, ayah (nursemaid) to an English family, who arrives at Tilbury docks after a long voyage from India, to start a new life in Britain. On the boat, Rani befriends a lascar (sailor), an Indian politician and a royal servant destined to serve the Queen. Full of hopes and dreams of what lies ahead, they each embark on an extraordinary journey.
Spanning 13 years over the ‘Golden Era’ of Empire, this epic drama takes audiences from the rugged gangways of Tilbury docks to the grandeur of Queen Victoria’s Palace whilst unveiling the long and embedded culture of British Asian history, which continues to shape our society today.
Making her RSC debut, Tanya Katyal will play Rani Das. Her theatre credits include ‘When Mountains Meet’ at Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow, and her television credits include Netflix’s ‘Eternally Confused’ and ‘Eager for Love’.
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Raj Bajaj will play Abdul Karim, and Alexandra Gilbreath as Queen Victoria. Aaron Gill, Lauren Patel and Anish Roy are other British Indian actors playing prominent parts in the play. Pooja Ghai directs the production.
‘The Empress’ will run in the Swan Theatre in Startford upon Avon from July 7 and will run until September 15, before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London from October 4 to October 28. The production will return to the Swan Theatre in November.
Erica Whyman, RSC Acting Artistic Director, said: “The RSC has always believed it essential to support and celebrate the living writers who can expose new ways of seeing our collective history and conjure a brave new world that we don’t yet understand. ‘The Empress’ by Tanika Gupta – now on the GCSE syllabus - presents an extraordinary friendship and a beautiful love story whilst forensically exposing the blithe injustice of empire. Now more than ever, it takes courage to speak these truths as new cultural wars roar and mutter.”
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‘The Empress’ first premiered at the Swan Theatre in 2013 and was directed by Emma Rice.