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The Last King: Play in Lucknow explores Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s cultural and historical impact
The story of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah will be brought to life on stage in the play Aakhri Tajdaar: The Last King at Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy on Tuesday.
The story of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah will be brought to life on stage in the play Aakhri Tajdaar: The Last King at the Sant Gadge Auditorium of the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy on Tuesday.
Written and directed by Masood Abdullah, who also portrays the last emperor of Awadh, the play aims to present a nuanced portrait of the historical figure. “We are trying to tell the real story of Wajid Ali Shah,” Abdullah tells HT City and adds, “A lot has been written about him in Britisher-guided history books, following a narrative set to defame him. However, that was not the case.”
The performance will highlight lesser-known aspects of his life. “We know he was exiled to Calcutta (now Kolkata), but the fact is he himself went to talk to the Viceroy of India. He was a guest of the Maharaja of Varanasi for 15 days before reaching Calcutta, where he fell ill. He even sent his mother (Begum Malika Kishwar) to England to meet the Queen. But during all this delay, the War of Independence (1857) started, talks failed, and he stayed back,” says Abdullah.
The director explains that narrator Jayant Krishna, who also plays a king in the play, will describe how Wajid Ali Shah laid the foundation for the tradition of Ganga Aarti on the Varanasi ghats and started the shehnai recital at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.
“The play opens with the Janmashtami Utsav at his palace, with kathak being performed in the backdrop. We all know what a great patron of culture—dance, music, dastaangoi, and plays—he was, and how Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb and cultural harmony flourished during his regime,” adds Abdullah.
Kathak dancers and twin sisters Isha Ratan and Meesha Ratan will play Radha and Krishna during the dance sequence.
The cast includes Tanya Verma as Begum Hazrat Mahal, Dr. Aseem Tikko, Fareed Khan, Farzana Rizvi, Zafar Kazmi, Gurudutt Pandey, and others. The music is composed by Aditya Kumar Sharma.
Catch it live:
What: Play Aakhri Tajdaar: The Last King
Where: Sant Gadge Auditorium, Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy, Gomti Nagar.
When: January 13, 2026, 6pm
Entry: Free
