Goodnight Maharajah

GOODNIGHT MAHARAJAH is a brand new stage production based on the extraordinary life of Maharajah Duleep Singh — the last King of Punjab. Created by Indofuturist cross-arts innovators ŚŪNYA Company, this bold and dreamlike new work is coming to The Cockpit this June for an exclusive work-in-progress performance.

Berlin, 1893. Victor Duleep Singh is having a restless night. Haunted by the past, he sees visions of his estranged father — the Maharajah — emerging from an old picture frame. Over the course of the night, Maharajah Duleep Singh begins to speak. He recounts the journey of his life: being separated from his mother Maharani Jind Kaur, the loss of the Sikh Empire to the British while still a child, his unlikely rise as Queen Victoria’s ‘favourite’, and, after returning to his roots, the resistance campaign he orchestrated  — one that reached across Europe and beyond. But how does the Maharajah’s version of events square with Victor’s own memories of his father’s neglect and abandonment?

Blending traditional and experimental storytelling, GOODNIGHT MAHARAJAH unfolds through live electronics and the textured richness of Indian music, performed live on stage by professional musicians and a community chorus.*

This is a story about memory, identity, and the fractured legacy of the empire. With colonial histories and cultural inheritance still affecting contemporary diaspora, this innovative production explores the frictions between parent and child, nation and empire, truth and illusion.

*If would like to join our community chorus for the production, contact anjalinasunyacompany.com

Please note that this is a work-in-progress performance following 8 days of Research & Development. Some sections may be performed by actors script-in-hand and/or performed unstaged in a concert-style presentation. The run time is given as a rough estimate. This Research & Development stage of GOODNIGHT MAHARAJAH is made possible with support from Arts Council England and Newham Music.

The Team
ŚŪNYA शून्य are a new arts company blending Indian and Western styles across music, theatre and dance whilst highlighting diverse stories, particularly those with a South Asian angle.

Writer & composers: Kiran Sodhi-Kalsi-Ghatoure & Joe Steele
Director: Ben Grant
Dramaturgs: Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong & Jo Tyabji
Production Assistant: Simran Patel
Outreach Manager: Anjalina Kaur
Punjabi Translator: Raoul Akhtar-Sodhi
Casting Consultancy: Heather Basten
Artwork & Poster Design: Shweta Sharma
Cast: TBA
Musicians: Kiran SKG (Dilruba, Bansuri), Joe Steele (Synths, Harmonium), Amisha Karsan (Sitar) and Randeep Kaur Bilkhu (Tabla, percussion)

https://www.sunyacompany.com/

Saturday 7 June - 7:30pm