In August 1908, Princess Dinubolu of Senegal became the first black woman to enter a British beauty competition at The Kursall Palace, Southend. Despite a warning about ‘local prejudice’ from the competition’s organisers, Dinubolupersevered, telling press ‘people have told me that only cream-and-pink little English misses can win... I wish to prove them wrong.’  

Little more is known of Princess Dinubolu – after being the centre of Southend’s pageant controversy, she seems to have disappeared into the shadowy footnotes of the history books. Anne Odeke’s new play, Princess Essex, explores those shadows, reimagining the story of Dinubolu in an over the top and often hilarious critique of empire, imperialism and the power and racial dynamics of Edwardian England.  

Odeke herself plays Joanna, an orphaned local maid to wealthy white woman Mrs Bugle (a brilliant Lizzie Hopley). A night out at the Kursaal with Mrs Bugle turns Essex-born Joanna’s world upside down as she is confronted by the spectacle of the Great Batwa, an African pygmy chief paraded around the stage and forced to perform for his supper.  

It is from here that the plot of Princess Essex gathers pace, as Joanna abandons the hapless Mrs Bugle in a quest to ‘save’ Batwa. Instead, she comes face to face with a stage persona that plays into the British Empire’s fascination for the exotic other, and is set on her own journey to confront the white ideals of Southend’s beauty pageant through a new identity – Princess Dinubolu of Senegal.  

The Globe is transformed into a twentieth-century seaside resort and the performance has all the delight and excitement of a Edwardian music hall production. A buoyant rendition of ‘oh I do like to be beside the seaside’ opens the show, complete with a nautical striped and bloomer-clad ensemble who give the at-times challenging subject matter a sparkling, light-hearted veneer.

Odeke is a delight both as Joanne and Princess Dinubolu, in an endearing and magnetic performance that movesseamlessly from comedy to more considered explorations of prejudice and identity. The ensemble cast is equally impressively, adeptly shape shifting between a wide range of characters and costumes without missing a beat. In particular, Eloise Seckler is brilliant as Violet, the highly-strung and demanding daughter of the Mayor of Southend.  

The fast-paced writing is brilliantly funny, and the whole production fizzes with energy. The audience chimes in at all the right moments with well-timed gasps and bursts of laughter that are a testament to Odeke’s script. However, at times Joanna’s story risks being lost to several convoluted subplots involving a sex-mad King Edward and a disobedient maid who joins the women’s suffrage moment. At these moments, Princess Essex risks veering slightly too far towards the pantomime and distracting from the character at its core.

As the first black woman to star in her own play at the Globe, there are poignant parallels between Joanna’s story and Odeke’s own. ‘It’s important we ask ourselves why we can’t answer’ says Odeke of the mystery surrounding Princess Dinubolu. In this production, the absence of information speaks volumes – for all its apparent light-heartedness, this is an important story that rewrites the role black women play in the history of the empire.

Princess Essex is showing at Shakespeare’s Globe until October 26. Find out more and buy tickets here.

 Words by Ellen Hodgetts