The Empress

Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, 1887.
At East London's Tilbury Docks, Rani Das and Abdul Karim, step ashore after the long voyage from India. One has to battle a society who deems her a second-class citizen; the other forges an astonishing entanglement with the ageing Queen Victoria who finds herself enchanted by stories of an India over which she rules, but has never seen.
Through narrative, music and song, The Empress blends the true story of Queen Victoria's controversial relationship with her Indian servant and 'Munshi' (teacher), Abdul Karim, with the experiences of Indian ayahs who came to Britain during the 19th century. With private romance being mapped onto world history, the action cuts between the ship and different royal residences, offering bright contrasts as well as surprising affinities. In doing so, the play uncovers remarkable unknown stories of 19th-century Britain and charts the growth of Indian nationalism and the romantic proclivities of one of Britain's most surprising monarchs.
The Empress, which premiered at Stratford-upon-Avon's RSC in 2013, is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition with commentary and notes by Professor Jane Garnett, Wadham College, University of Oxford, UK.

Over the past 25 years, Tanika Gupta has written over 25 stage plays that have been produced in major theatres across the UK and has written extensively for BBC Radio drama. Some of her theatre credits include: A Doll's House (Lyric Hammersmith) Red Dust Road - adaptation of Jackie Kay's memoir (NT Scotland); Bones (Central School for Speech and Drama) Hobson's Choice (Manchester Royal Exchange); Lions And Tigers (Globe Theatre); A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (Hull Truck Theatre); Midsummer Night's Dream (Globe Theatre -Dramaturg); Anita and Me (Birmingham Rep); Love N Stuff (Theatre Royal Stratford East); The Empress (Royal Shakespeare Company); Wah! Wah! Girls - A British Bollywood Musical (Sadler's Wells); Mindwalking (Bandbazi Theatre); Great Expectations (Watford Palace Theatre/English Touring Theatre); Meet The Mukherjees (Bolton Octagon Theatre); White Boy (National Youth Theatre/Soho Theatre); Sugar Mummies (Royal Court Theatre); Gladiator Games (Sheffield Crucible Theatre); Hobson's Choice (Young Vic); Fragile Land (Hampstead Theatre); Inside Out (Clean Break); Sanctuary, Brecht's The Good Woman Of Setzuan and The Waiting Room (National Theatre); Skeleton (Soho Theatre); and A River Sutra (Indoza). Some of her Television credits include: Doctors, London Bridge, All About Me, EastEnders, Grange Hill, The Bill, Flight, Banglatown Banquet, Our Lives As Animals ,The Fiancee and Bideshi. Some of her Radio credits include: Trumpet, A Passage To India, Death of a Matriarch, The Home and The World, Emma, Writing The Century, Bindi Business, Song Of The Road, The God Of Small Things, Baby Farming and Ibsen's A Doll's House. In 2008 Tanika was awarded an MBE for Services to Drama and in 2016 was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Tanika has an honorary doctorate in the Arts from Chichester University and is an Honorary Fellow at Rose Bruford College and Central School of Speech and Drama. She won the James Tait Black award in 2018 for her play Lions and Tigers.

Chronology
COMMENTARY
PLAYWRIGHT
CONTEXT
1. Late-19th-century imperial context
2. Context within which the play was written and rehearsed in 2012/13
3. RSC's commissioning strategy for new plays
THEMES
1. Class
2. Race
3. Gender
4. Religion
5. British Empire
CHARACTERS (HISTORICAL & FICTIONAL) & CHARACTERISATION
DIALOGUE
DRAMATIC DEVICES
1. RSC production: sets, costumes, role of instrumental music and song
2. Use of short scenes to create a visual and textual mosaic
RESPONSE
Audience and press response
PLAY TEXT
FURTHER READING AND VIEWING