September 2023 — October 2023
Great Expectations
Adapted by Tanika Gupta. Directed by Pooja GhaiA Tamasha and Royal Exchange Theatre co-production
★★★★★ – West End Best Friend
★★★★ – The Times
★★★★ – The Guardian
★★★★ – The Reviews Hub
“All my life they looked down on me, always cursing and abusing. But you, you will be different!”
Bengal, 1903. Rumours that the British Empire plans to partition Bengal spread and uncertainty is never far away. For one Indian boy destiny is found on the banks of the River Padma before the Goddess Lakshmi. Here a promise is made. Born out of terror or kindness the choice Pipli makes that night will shape his life forever.
Pooja Ghai directs Tanika Gupta’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Pipli moves from his home in Rajshahi to the bustling streets of Calcutta. With an open heart he navigates unforgiving darkness and unsettling friendships in his search for a better future. For Pipli, dharma – the right way of living, is never far away.
Content warning: Age guidance 12+
Dates
Royal Exchange Theatre
St Ann’s Square, Manchester M2 7DH08 Sep — 07 Oct
Book nowCreative Team
Written by Charles Dickens
Adapted by Tanika Gupta
Directed by Pooja Ghai
Designer Rosa Maggiora
Lighting Designer Joshua Carr
Composer and Sound Designer Arun Ghosh
Fight Director Rachel Bown-Williams of Rc-Annie Ltd.
Movement Director Neil Bettles
Dialect Coach Gurkiran Kaur
Birkbeck Assistant Director Amara Heyland-Morrin
Casting Director Hannah Miller CDG
Production Manager Jacqui Leigh
Company Stage Manager Jane-Newbury-Jones
Deputy Stage Manager Rosie Giarratana
Assistant Stage Manager Louise Manifold
Photography by Felicity McCabe
Cast
Esh Alladi
Pipli
Catherine Russell
Miss Havisham
Cecilia Appiah
Estella
Asif Khan
Jagu
Shanaya Rafaat
Krishna/Meneka
Andrew French
Malik
Humera Syed
Bilquis
Nav Sidhu
Panda/Public Speaker
Stephen Fewell
Jaggers
Shaban Dar
Wahab/Soldier
Reginald Edwards
Compeyson/Matthew Pocket
Giles Cooper
Herbert Pocket/Soldier
"truly spellbinding"
- West End Best Friend
"big slice of theatrical storytelling"
- The Times
"Tanika Gupta brings authority and nuance to her adaptation"
- The Guardian
"an all-round entertaining production that looks great, keeps you engaged, is full of wit and packed with morals"
- The Reviews Hub
In the press
“Miss Havisham in my adaptation represents colonial Britain – the dying embers of it – her inability to ‘let go’ of the memory of the lover who jilted her so cruelly, her arrogance, her manipulation of Estella and Pipli and her vulnerability are all an allegory for British rule. But we still feel empathy for her and she does change!”
Tanika Gupta for Broadway World
“It doesn’t shy away from the darker side of the colonial coin – but asks us to delve deeper into this side of history to better understand why we are where we are today.”
Pooja Ghai for Closeup Culture
Gupta’s version shows “how colonialism doesn’t just affect our political structures, there’s a colonisation of the mind and heart as well.”
Esh Alladi speaks to The Stage