The Empress

Image Design by Visual Communications, Photography by Clare Park © RSC

The Empress, by Tanika Gupta at The Swan Theatre, RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon, from 7 July to 15 September. It then transfers to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, from 4 – 28 October. The production then returns to The Swan Theatre from 1 – 18 November.

Preview.

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.

Tanya Katyal plays Rani Das

Spanning a period of 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. Television credits include Netflix’s Eternally Confused and Eager for Love.

Raj Bajaj plays Abdul Karim

Raj Bajaj will play Abdul Karim. Raj’s previous RSC credits include Tamburlaine, Tartuffe and Much Ado About Nothing.

Helen Schlesinger will play Queen Victoria. Helen’s previous RSC credits include The God’s Weep, The Crucible, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.

Completing the company are: Francesca Faridany (Lady Sarah), Aaron Gill (Hari), Anyebe Godwin (Serang/Lascar), Miriam Grace Edwards (Charlotte/Georgina), Oliver Hembrough (Sir John Oakham/William), Avita Jay (Firoza), Tom Milligan (Freddie), Sarah Moyle (Mary/Susan Matthews), Chris Nayak (Jinnah/Singh), Lauren Patel (Ruby/Asha), Simon Rivers (Dadabhai Naoroji), Anish Roy (Gandhi/Lascar), Nicola Stephenson (Lascar Sally), Premi Tamang (Lascar/Ayah) and Joe Usher (Lascar).

The Empress first premiered in the Swan Theatre in 2013 and was directed by Emma Rice.

Helen Schlesinger plays Queen Victoria.

The play-text was recently added to the GCSE drama syllabus following a campaign spearheaded by the RSC's Youth Advisory Board and one of four new plays by writers of colour to better reflect the diversity of playwriting in the UK.

Tanika Gupta has written over 25 stage plays that have been produced in major theatres across the UK. She was awarded an MBE for Services to Drama and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

The production is directed by Pooja Ghai with Design by Rosa Maggiora. Lighting is by Matt Haskins, Music and Sound by Ben and Max Ringham, Movement by Wayne Parsons, and Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG and Martin Poile.

For further details and tickets: https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-empress/