The Empress
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
This is a production that gives an interesting insight into India and the British Empire, though it does lack depth. The play includes three intertwining stories. One follows a young ayah, Rani Das (Anneika Rose), as she arrives in England together with a lascar she has befriended, Hari (Ray Panthaki). A lot of the play focuses on the pair struggling to live under the rule of the prejudiced British. During her voyage Rani meets two historical figures, whose stories make up the rest of the play. One is Abdul Karim (Tony Jayawardena), the Indian servant to Queen Victoria (Beatie Edney), and the audience gets to see the developing relationship between the two despite opposition. The last plot addresses the first Asian British MP, Dadabhai Naoroji (Vincent Ebrahim) as he campaigns to represent India in the House of Commons.
The overall theme of the play is the British Empire and its Indian subjects during their long struggle to gain equality late in the Victorian era. It is clear that the writer, Tanika Gupta, has researched this thoroughly in order to write this play. Despite this she is trying to deal with some hefty subjects and sadly a good deal of the play falls apart under the weight.
The main focus is on Rani, as Gupta attempts to give the point of view of the Indians who emigrated to England. The story about Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim is the secondary focus, whilst Dababhai Naoroji disappears until the second act. What is more the episodic structure of the play, as it moves between plot lines, means that a good number of the scenes jump ahead in time, losing any sense of progression. For instance, the end of the first act shows Rani at her last tether but as the second act gets going she is quickly back on her feet and any sense of crisis is lost.
Anneika Rose however did well to show an innocent and naive Rani maturing into an adult as the play progresses. Ray Panthaki is a simple minded and laid back Hari, but he shows how much the character cares for Rani. During her story, Rani meets all sorts of characters, including the rough and sassy Lascar Sally (Tamzin Griffin), the sly Sir John Oakham (Ed Woodall), and his orderly servant Georgina (Emily Mytton). The play does tend to portray a lot of the British as one dimensional, and the upper classes are shown as prejudiced stereotypes, in order to get its point across.
The scenes with Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim are some of the best scenes of the play. It is such a shame that Tanika Gupta did not write a play solely based around them. Beatie Edney's is quite the imperial Queen Victoria, as she continuously makes clear her views on Karim, despite opposition from both the government and her own family. Tony Jayawardena as the loyal Karim is a big hearted and noble servant to Victoria. There are scenes where he teaches her Indian culture, and one of the highlights comes near the end where he "brings" India to her, a poignant moment. Kristin Hutchinson, as Victoria's strict Lady-in-waiting Sarah provides the conservative point of view of the government and the Royal Family about the relationship. Vincent Ebrahim meanwhile is a generous and respectful Dadabhai Naoroji.
The plays earns points for production values. It almost seems that it was originally written as a screenplay. At times a sail fills the back of the stage, on which projections of a sea, the night sky, an elephant, the title of the play, and even some ending credits along with the bows are shown. The whole theatre is like a boat, reflecting the opening scenes as the characters arrive in England. Ropes aplenty fill the performance space and the stage floor consists of wooden boards surrounded by water.
Behind the sail a typical representation of London is shown through cut out black and white photographs of landmarks. The effect is like a postcard. The only design choice I did not like was presenting children through actors holding up clothes on a coat hanger. It is understandable if they could not afford child actors, but they might as well have allowed the actors themselves to play the roles. Also, whilst I liked the music being performed by a sitar, the music was almost continuous and there were times when it unnecessary and distracted from the mood created by the actors. That said the presentation was fantastic, especially when the play ends with the cast putting burning paper boats on the water.
Behind the colour and splendor however, Tanika Gupta only gives a basic overview of a subject that is rarely discussed. It is such a shame because there are some bright moments, especially on the actors' part, and Tanika could have easily focused on one of the three stories. This production should only be seen at a Bargain.
The overall theme of the play is the British Empire and its Indian subjects during their long struggle to gain equality late in the Victorian era. It is clear that the writer, Tanika Gupta, has researched this thoroughly in order to write this play. Despite this she is trying to deal with some hefty subjects and sadly a good deal of the play falls apart under the weight.
The main focus is on Rani, as Gupta attempts to give the point of view of the Indians who emigrated to England. The story about Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim is the secondary focus, whilst Dababhai Naoroji disappears until the second act. What is more the episodic structure of the play, as it moves between plot lines, means that a good number of the scenes jump ahead in time, losing any sense of progression. For instance, the end of the first act shows Rani at her last tether but as the second act gets going she is quickly back on her feet and any sense of crisis is lost.
Anneika Rose however did well to show an innocent and naive Rani maturing into an adult as the play progresses. Ray Panthaki is a simple minded and laid back Hari, but he shows how much the character cares for Rani. During her story, Rani meets all sorts of characters, including the rough and sassy Lascar Sally (Tamzin Griffin), the sly Sir John Oakham (Ed Woodall), and his orderly servant Georgina (Emily Mytton). The play does tend to portray a lot of the British as one dimensional, and the upper classes are shown as prejudiced stereotypes, in order to get its point across.
The scenes with Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim are some of the best scenes of the play. It is such a shame that Tanika Gupta did not write a play solely based around them. Beatie Edney's is quite the imperial Queen Victoria, as she continuously makes clear her views on Karim, despite opposition from both the government and her own family. Tony Jayawardena as the loyal Karim is a big hearted and noble servant to Victoria. There are scenes where he teaches her Indian culture, and one of the highlights comes near the end where he "brings" India to her, a poignant moment. Kristin Hutchinson, as Victoria's strict Lady-in-waiting Sarah provides the conservative point of view of the government and the Royal Family about the relationship. Vincent Ebrahim meanwhile is a generous and respectful Dadabhai Naoroji.
The plays earns points for production values. It almost seems that it was originally written as a screenplay. At times a sail fills the back of the stage, on which projections of a sea, the night sky, an elephant, the title of the play, and even some ending credits along with the bows are shown. The whole theatre is like a boat, reflecting the opening scenes as the characters arrive in England. Ropes aplenty fill the performance space and the stage floor consists of wooden boards surrounded by water.
Behind the sail a typical representation of London is shown through cut out black and white photographs of landmarks. The effect is like a postcard. The only design choice I did not like was presenting children through actors holding up clothes on a coat hanger. It is understandable if they could not afford child actors, but they might as well have allowed the actors themselves to play the roles. Also, whilst I liked the music being performed by a sitar, the music was almost continuous and there were times when it unnecessary and distracted from the mood created by the actors. That said the presentation was fantastic, especially when the play ends with the cast putting burning paper boats on the water.
Behind the colour and splendor however, Tanika Gupta only gives a basic overview of a subject that is rarely discussed. It is such a shame because there are some bright moments, especially on the actors' part, and Tanika could have easily focused on one of the three stories. This production should only be seen at a Bargain.
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