Princess & The Hustler

Meet Princess. A cheeky ten-year-old, with a plan to win the Weston-super-Mare Beauty Contest. Trouble is, her mum is busy working several jobs, her brother, a budding photographer, won't even take her picture and then – The Hustler returns.

In 1963 Bristol, as Black British Civil Rights campaigners walk onto the streets, Princess finds out what it really means to be black and beautiful.

Chinonyerem Odimba's play Princess & The Hustler was first seen at the Bristol Old Vic in February 2019, followed by a UK tour, in a co-production between Eclipse Theatre Company, Bristol Old Vic and Hull Truck Theatre, directed by Dawn Walton. The play was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Best New Play Award 2018.

Set Text: Princess & The Hustler is a modern-drama set-text option for AQA's GCSE English Literature. The accompanying GCSE Study Guide is available here.

Princess & The Hustler is also available in the volume Contemporary Plays by Black British Writers.

A4 Edition also available

This play is also available as an A4 Edition, offering spiral binding, a larger print size and additional space for notes. To order the play in this format, simply select the 'A4 Spiral-bound' option above. Please note A4 Editions are only available for delivery within the UK.

Q&A Podcast: listen to a Q&A with Chinonyerem Odimba about her play Princess & The Hustler, recorded in June 2020 as part of the NHB Playgroup series...