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GOODNIGHT MAHARAJAH is a production by ŚŪNYA शून्य COMPANY - innovators in cross-cultural performance.

Founded in 2024 by Kiran Sodhi-Kalsi-Ghatoure and Joe Steele after years of creative partnership, the company fuses Indian and Western artistic traditions to tell diverse stories with originality and depth. ŚŪNYA is also home to resident music collective @db0_Ensemble

Research & Development 2025

Full credits

Written & Composed by Kiran SKG & Joe Steele

Directed by Ben Grant

The following is ordered alphabetically.

Cast

Bamba Müller, Maharani Jind Kaur, Queen Victoria & Ada Douglas Wetherill - Siobhan Athwal
Dr. John Login, India Office & others - Krushnaa Chousalkar
Older Maharajah Duleep Singh - Kiran SKG
Young Maharajah Duleep Singh, Prince Victor Duleep Singh & Meghavarna - Nikhil Singh Rai

Community Chorus

Afiya, Amandeep Kaur Johal, Asif, Balbir Kaur, Balbir Kaur Kalsey, Balvinder Saund, Bethany Moran, Bhalbir Kaur Bhambra, Darshan Kaur Sandhu, Guljinder Kaur, Jaswant Matharu, Kuljeet Panesar, Mohinder Kaur Kalsi-Ghatoure, Monju, Raminder Kaur, Rani, Raoul Akhtar Sodhi, Satnam, Satnam Rooprai, Shamim Mer, Sukwant Kaur, Tharun Katravath, Trilochan Kaur Nandra

Musicians

Dilruba, Bansuri, Voice - Kiran SKG
Sitar - Amisha Karsan
Synths, Harmonium - Joe Steele
Tabla, Percussion - Randeep Kaur Bilkhu

Production Team

Casting Consultant - Heather Basten
Community Engagement Support - Mohinder Kaur Kalsi-Ghatoure
Community Workshop Historical Expert - Peter Bance
Dramaturgy - Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong & Jo Tyabji
Funding & Project Management Consultant - Alex Etchart
Illustrator & Poster - Shweta Sharma
Musical Direction Mentor - Preetha Narayanan
Outreach Manager - Anjalina Kaur Seehra
Photographer - Matt Wong
Production Assistant & Stage Manager - Simran Patel
Punjabi Translator - Raoul Akhtar Sodhi
Technician (Sound) - James Charles
Videographer - Marco Bardusco-Brazier
Technician (Lighting) - Allie Hu

This project is possible thanks to the support of:

Alex Etchart, Arts Council England, Arts La’Olam, Collage Arts, Croydon Unitarians, Essex Cultural Diversity Project, Forest Gate Library, Green St Library, Harvinder Singh Virdee, Heather Basten Casting, Manor Park Library, Newham Music, Raj Academy, Raj Academy UK, Rosetta Arts, Sarbat LGBT+ Sikh, Sibling Arts, The Jago Dalston, Yoga In The Stars.

We are very grateful to the following for their invaluable feedback on the script: Navtej Kaur Purewal, Pritpal Singh Bhullar, Dr. Priya Atwal, Rav Singh (A Little History of Sikhs) - hopefully we can include more of your suggestions in the next stage!

Follow @sunya_company on Instagram to stay up-to-date with future developments.

Punjabi translations

Community Chorus

As part of the Outreach Strand of Goodnight Maharajah, ŚŪNYA Company brought together a group of 20 community members from diverse backgrounds to sing during the show. The community strand of the project was managed by Anjalina Kaur Seehra.

Following a series of taster sessions at libraries and community centres in Newham, amassing interest from over 60 people, the main workshop series commenced with participants coming together to write a song about Maharajah Duleep Singh. Many of the community chorus members shared the same sentiment, a passion for music but little opportunity to explore it. Recruitment for the workshops was supported by Mohinder Kaur Kalsi-Ghatoure.

At the first workshop, the newly formed community chorus came together to learn and sing in the Gurmat Kirtan tradition. The knowledge on raag musicology was based on insights and knowledge provided by Raj Academy. In order to gain insight into the life of the last King of Punjab, we welcomed historian and author Peter Bance to our second workshop, who gave a detailed account of the Maharajah’s story.

Following both workshops, the community came together in groups to write lyrics centred on the emotions elicited from the Mahrajah’s story. After being presented and expressing three different Raag (musical moods), the participants decided themselves which one they wanted to proceed with for this project. This was their decision to make, in relation to the topic at hand and what they were being drawn to. Through collaboration a song was written, featuring multiple languages including Punjabi, English, Persian, Sanskrit, Rajasthani, Arabic, Kashmiri, Hindi/Urdu, and French. Translation support was provided by Raoul Akhtar Sodhi.

The song conveys a final goodbye to Maharajah Duleep Singh written and composed in the mood of Raag Gaurree (soft melting of ego).

We want to say a big thank you to our community chorus for being an integral part of the musical.

Community Chorus Lyrics

So ja maaharaaja

Maa de dil da dulaaraa,

Chandaa Maamaa aaega.

Duur tenuu lae jaaeega,

Your maatridesh awaits you,

Beyond le hawaa de la pahaaraa.

Bhaana mannan di himmat rakho.

So ja maaharaaja, lambee nadeeyatraa see.

Find your way back home parindeh,

Taajposh kariyo ratnaih saarangee.

Maa daa khajaanaa, eh asees sunno:

So ja maharaja, lehr shaant ho jaaegaa.

Papa dee akkh sulakhnee,

Equally, looked on all.

Hukam manno, sumundar leen karav.

Sutaa laal, tuhada shaan rahoga.

Maa da dil da dulaaraa,

Chandaa Maamaa aaega.

Duur tenuu lae jaaeega,

Translation

Go to sleep great king

Beloved of the mother's heart,

My [lunar] brother is coming.

He will take you far away,

Your motherland awaits you,

Beyond the mountain air.

In order to accept universal will, keep courage.

Go to sleep great king, it was a long river-journey.

Find your way back home [sweet] bird,

Crowned with multi-coloured jewels/emotions.

Mother’s treasure, listen to this blessing:

Go to sleep great king, the wave will become still.

Your father’s enchanting eye

Equally, [it] looked on all.

Accept universal laws, merge with the [pure] ocean.

Sleeping beloved child, your honour will last.

Beloved of the mother's heart,

My [lunar] brother is coming.

He will take you far away,

Community Chorus Submissions

Write-up by community chorus member Balvinder Kaur Saund (Chairperson of Sikh Women’s Alliance U.K.)

“Rani Jindan”

Salute to our last Maharani Jind Kaur of Sikh Empire, still revered, beloved and remembered by us today.
Born in 1817 in Gujranwala, now in Pakistan. Died on 1/8/1863 in Kensington in London.
Maharani Jind Kaur was Regent of Sikh Empire from 1843 until 29/3/1847 when Sikh Empire was forcibly dissolved by British Empire.
Rani’s father Manna Singh Aulukh looked after the royal kennels and he wished his daughter to become Queen. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh had obliged and Jindan became Maharaja’s youngest wife, mother to Maharaja Duleep Singh.
Rani Jind Kaur was renowned for her beauty, energy and strength of purpose. Her fame is derived chiefly from the fear she endangered in the British in India, who described her as “the Messalina of Panjab”
After the last Anglo-Sikh war in December 1846, to counter her power and influence, she was imprisoned and separated from her 9 years old son, her pension reduced to 48,000 rupees and she was exiled.
She was taken to Chunar Fort, about 45 km from Varnasi, and all her jewellery taken from her.
A year later, she escaped from the Chunar Fort disguised as a servant, and travelled 800 miles of forest to ask for sanctuary in Nepal. She arrived in Kathmandu in April 1849 where the Nepalese Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa gave her protection for 11 years.
Over 13 years had passed, before she was permitted to see her only child, who had been taken to England aged 10 to Queen Victoria’s Palace and placed under Lord Logan’s care to become Squire with British aristocracy and converted to Christianity.
By 1860, Rani had much changed, was blind and frail, she had lost much of her energy which formerly characterised her.
British decided that she was no longer a threat and on 16/1/1861, she was permitted to join her son at Spence’s Hotel in Calcutta.
The presence of Sikh royalty in city gave rise to demonstrations of joy and loyalty. The hotel was surrounded by thousands of armed Sikhs keen to see their Maharani and her son. British panicked and Lord Canning requested Duleep Singh as a favour to leave for England with his mother by the next boat. She was brought to Kensington in London.
Duleep Singh had negotiated the return of Maharani’s jewellery, which had been kept in treasury at Banares. George Richmond drew her portrait wearing some of her jewellery. Her emerald and pearl necklace was sold at auction on 8/10/2009 for £55,200.
In last two years of her life in Kensington, she reminded the Maharaja of his Sikh heritage and told him of his empire that had once been his, sowing the seeds which 20 years later led him to research for weeks in British Library and to petition Queen Victoria, hoping namely to remedy the injustice he had suffered but to no avail.
In morning of 1/8/1863, aged only 46, Maharani Jind Kaur died peacefully in her sleep in Abingdon House in Kensington. Cremation was illegal in Great Britain before 1885. Duleep Singh was refused permission to take his mother’s body to Panjab. So, for a while, she was kept in Dissenter’s Chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery.
In spring of 1864, Duleep Singh obtained permission to take his mother’s body to Bombay, where she was cremated on the Panchavati side of Godavari River. Maharani’s wishes to be cremated in Lahore had been denied by British authorities. However, in 1924, her grandaughters Princess Bamba and Sophia moved her ashes to Samadhi of her husband, Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore, thus reuniting them for eternity.
In 1997, a marble headstone with Maharani’s name was uncovered during restorations at the Dissenters Chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery.
In 2009, a memorial statue to Maharani was installed in Kensal Green Cemetery. I was there with many from Sikh community. Some of us had shed tears for our Maharani’s tragic story and at demise of our great Sikh Empire.
Our salute to Maharani Jind Kaur and may her sacrifice be not forgotten by us.
May she rest in peace now.

Poem by community chorus member Amrita Dks:

"Lullaby for Maharaja Duleep Singh"

Born with love, in royal grace,

A prince adorned in warm embrace.

But fate was cruel, the winds did turn,

And soon your heart was made to yearn.

Your father, lion of Punjab,

Maharaja Ranjit Singh,

Left this world, the skies did sob,

As sorrow’s shadows took to wing.

Torn away from mother’s arms,

Maharani Jind, full of charms—

Left to cry, alone in pain,

While you were carried far like rain.

A world apart, in distant land,

Raised with care by gentle hands.

Queen Victoria gave her grace,

But could not fill your mother’s place.

Then one day, your soul awoke,

Your spirit stirred, the silence broke.

You searched for what had been denied,

A child lost, alone inside.

You wore your turban, proud and high,

With longing burning in your eye.

You dreamed of lands you’d never tread,

A throne, a crown, a past long dead.

At last, you met your mother dear,

But time had blurred her face unclear.

You held her close, the tears did flow,

Two hearts that time could not let go.

Yet pain remained, it did not cease,

You sought, but never found your peace.

A wounded child, brave but torn,

Still searching for the day you were born.

Now lay your head, the night is near,

The stars will guard, the skies will clear.

Go to sleep, sweet Maharaja, rest—

Your aching soul now laid to rest.

Your journey carved in history’s page,

A tale of love, of loss, of cage.

We’ll sing your name with quiet grace,

And hold your memory in our embrace.

Go to sleep, O gentle king,

Let peace at last your spirit bring.