The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) presents The Empress, written by Tanika Gupta, and directed by Pooja Ghai, is showing in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from Friday 7 July to Friday 15 September 2023, before transferring to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London from Wednesday 4 October to Saturday 28 October, with press night on Tuesday 10 October. The production will then return to the Swan Theatre from Wednesday 1 November to Saturday 18 November 2023.

For further information on The Empress and how to book tickets please visit https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-empress/

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 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 will play Abdul Karim. Raj’s previous RSC credits include Tamburlaine, Tartuffe and Much Ado About Nothing. Other theatre credits include Wildfire Road (Sheffield Crucible), Tartuffe (Birmingham Rep), Hobson’s Choice (Royal Exchange Manchester), Rapunzel (Stratford East), Lions & Tigers, The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), East is East (Northern Stage/Nottingham Playhouse), Bend It Like Beckham (Phoenix Theatre), Treasure Island (National Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (Home), The Arrivals (Terra Nova), The Djinns of Eidgah (Royal Court), The Snow Queen (Unicorn Theatre). Screen credits include Killing Eve 3, Dr. Who, Midsomer Murders, The Offenders, Doctors, Casualty, The Garden, Pray, A Christmas Prince 2: The Royal Wedding and A Christmas Prince 3: The Royal Baby.

The company are: Raj Bajaj (Abdul Karim), Alexandra Gillbreath (Queen Victoria), Francesca Faridany (Lady Sarah), Aaron Gill (Hari), Anyebe Godwin (Serang/Lacsar), Miriam Grace Edwards (Charlotte/Susan), Oliver Hembrough (Sir John Oakham/William), Avita Jay (Firoza), Tanya Katyal (Rani Das), Sarah Moyle (Mary/Susan Matthews), Lauren Patel (Ruby/Asha), Simon Rivers (Sadabhai Naoroji), Anish Roy (Gandhi/Lascar), Nicola Stephenson (Lascar Sally), Premi Tamang (Lascar/Ayah), Joe Usher (Lascar), and Chris Nayak (Jinnah/Singh).

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

The play-text was recently added to the GCSE drama syllabus following the Lit in Colour campaign which aims to diversifying the curriculum. The text was introduced by AQA in 2022, the largest examination board in England. Tanika’s 2019 production of A Doll’s House was previously added to the national curriculum by Pearson in 2021 alongside works by Bola Agbaje, In-Sook Chappell and Roy Williams.

Tanika Gupta has written over 25 stage plays that have been produced in major theatres across the UK. Her critically acclaimed adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House set in colonial Calcutta launched Rachel O’Riordan’s first season as Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in 2019.

Tanika was awarded an MBE for Services to Drama and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Tanika is an Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and was recently announced as one of two new Writers in Residence at The Bush Theatre in 2023. For further details, visit www.tanikagupta.com

The Empress was written by Tanika Gupta. The production is directed by Pooja Ghai with Design by Rosa Maggiora, Lighting by Matt Haskins, Music and Sound by Ben and Max Ringham, Movement by Wayne Parsons, Casting by Matthew Dewsbury CDG and Martin Poile, Dramaturgy by Pippa Hill, Fights and Intimacy by Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown, Voice and Dialect Gurkiran Kaur, Assistant Director Layla Madanat and Design Assistant Maariyah Sharjil.

The Music Director is Hinal Pattani, Cello by Carolina López Del-Nero, Percussion by Vikaash Sankadecha, and Bansuri by Vijay Venkat.