The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2023 - Issue 34

Lisa Ogun’ attended The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company’s autumn offering of Tanika Gupta’s ‘The Empress’, a story of Indian colonialism against the backdrop of Queen Victoria’s 50th anniversary of reign celebrations. The Royal Shakespeare Company bitetheatre andra Gilbreath plays a humorous, quick-witted, stubborn, but heart-warming Queen Victoria. Her scenes become a treat to the performance, but despite the comedy, they are used as a magnifying lens set upon the British culture of the time. It highlights the disapproval of respect formed by the British upper class towards the deemed lower-classed Indi- ans, where local society adopt a quick-to-believe negative ac- count against them. As the performance plays out, her scenes behold some of the poignant stories told within. “People are dying of starvation and nothing else.” Presented as a 50th Golden Jubilee gift, Indian native, fresh- off-the-boat Abdul Karim (dubbed Mr Karim) is to be her breakfast servant, whom she gratefully accepts. However, she takes an immediate interest in him, given he is from a country she has only dreamt of exploring yet is Empress of. As such, much to the disapproval of her manipulative lady-in-waiting, Lady Sarah (Francesca Faridany), a friend- ship forms as he (by her order) teaches her Indian words and phrases and tells beautiful descriptive stories of his home- land. A true platonic, heart-warming friendship blossoms. Him teaching her Hindi even pays off as she can now inter- twine their conversations with a few Hindi words, making them private, royally unique, and humorous. Meanwhile, a drunken Hari makes unsolicited advances to Rani in the hostel room they share at Sally’s, despite having made promises of a loving future together when he had been sober. Rani rattled at such advances and frightened at its re- occurrence, sneaks out during the night. She finds her way back to the docks and tries to get back home on a steamer set to sail, even offering to work aboard for nothing, all to no avail, with insufficient funds. “They’re from a nation of slave traders; it’s in their blood.” Hari wakes up to find Rani gone, searching for her, but has to begrudgingly return to the ship to carry out his contracted duties, eventually setting sail with his fellow deck mates. Her doomed homelessness in a foreign country leads Rani to meet a fellow and experienced Ayah, Firoza (Avita Jay), who urges her to advertise her domestic servant skills pro- actively. She approaches many dismissive and frankly rude British ladies but yields no employment. “I don’t know why you lot keep coming over here in the first place!” But Rani remains hopeful and keeps on. She finally gains the attention of Georgina (Miriam Grace Edwards), a housekeeper to the Oakham family, who takes her to her mistress and is finally given employment. We and Rani sigh in relief as it seems she has finally landed on her feet. That is, alas, until Lord Oakham (Oliver Hembrough) notices her and, as was very commonplace in those days for all colonial countries and communities, he takes sexual advantage of her.