Tanika Gupta

3.5/5

Tanika Gupta's play, The Empress follows different storylines and characters but all focus on one thing: the relationship between Britons and Indians. We see the untold story of ayahs and lascars, the relationship between ageing Queen Victoria and her 'Munshi' Abdul Karim, and the politics surrounding Dadabhai Naoroji (first Indian MP) and Mahatma Gandhi.

The concept of this play is amazing. As the play's trailer describes, it brings a 'hidden part of British history gloriously to life'. Until reading the playscript of The Empress, I had no idea about ayahs and lascars, although I must admit that Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim's relationship had already been made aware to me by the wonderful movie, rightly named as 'Victoria and Adbul'. The struggles and misery are colourfully brought to life with songs and dialogue and the settings were portrayed exactly how I expected. Gupta manages to highlight the injustice of the poor lascars who worked in horrific conditions, the ayahs who were manipulated and thrown out by their 'white' employers and the general dreary life of the working class families living in Victorian London.

Even though the idea behind this play is wonderful, I don't feel that it reached its full potential. Many of the scenes felt unrealistic, especially considering how it spans over fourteen years (the last of Queen Victoria's rule). The love story between Hari (an uneducated lascar) and Rani (an ayah) felt overdone and far-fetched. Who would remember a man that they met thirteen odd years ago on a ship, who they had a one-night-stand-but-not-really-a-one-night-stand with? Apparently Rani does. *spoiler alert ahead* Even after horror followed by more horrors continues to pursue her (after being abandoned by her employer in a country she's never been to, taken to a brothel/inn/pub/drunk-guys-looking-at-pretty-girls-place by Hari, running away from the brothel/inn/pub/drunk-guys-looking-at-pretty-girls-place, finding a somewhat decent job but then getting made pregnant by her manipulative employer, being fired from that somewhat decent job whilst being heavily pregnant by that same manipulative employer, giving birth to a baby (potentially alone) in an unseen labour scene, thinking about abandoning her baby (no, Rani! Don't listen to that manipulative employer! Don't drown your baby, or leave her to join the ranks of other bastard children all over the city!), being rescued and finding shelter in a newly-opened ayah's home, finding work as Dadabhai Naoroji's secretary…), she somehow still remembers Hari, still loves him… and they get married? *… (mais)