REVIEW: KING TROLL (The Fawn) at New Diorama Theatre 4 October – 2 November 2024

Photography: Helen Murray

`a chilling reflection of the absurdities of society`★★★★

This co-production between Kali Theatre and New Diorama Theatre presents a dystopian tale. A finalist for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Playwriting, King Troll (The Fawn) is about two South Asian sisters, desperate to escape the border regime without losing their humanity. Is that even possible on this island?

The elegant music is abruptly cut off by a sharp noise and the flash of a light, revealing a bare apartment room furnished simply, with twisted wires in the background. From the very beginning, it's clear that this is a thriller.

In the first scene, the show offers a social commentary, while by the second scene, it ventures into the realm of modern mythology. This tantalizing journey transforms the show into a kind of modern fairy tale—one with an horrific ending that is usually omitted from children's books. What makes the play even more intriguing is that it is a mythical thriller, one that critiques not just contemporary society but also human desires.

Set in an unnamed country that oddly resembles the one in which the play is being performed, the story explores the challenges of the migration process. Led by two strong main characters, Riya and Nikita, the narrative subverts the traditional fairy tale dynamic of "the weak are good and the strong are bad." Instead, we watch as Riya succumbs to temptation and begins to wield her power. Zainab Hasan and Safiyya Ingar make a powerful impression on stage as the two sisters, and Ayesha Dharker shines in her multi-roling as Mrs. B and Shashi. The way the Fawn character absorbs people's behaviours, reflecting the absurdities of society, is chilling.

The set might seem minimalistic, but the lasting image for me is that of the earth, shown on the upstage while digging. It feels like a metaphor for the world's dirtiness and secrecy. Whilst the sparse furniture, framed by the wired wall in the background, eloquently mirrors the sisters' fragile circumstances.

Box Office: https://newdiorama.com/whats-on/king-troll-the-fawn

Credits

Writer - Sonali Bhattacharyya

Director - Milli Bhatia 

Designer - Rajha Shakiry 

Associate Designer - Yimei Zhao 

Lighting Designer - Elliot Griggs

Composer and Sound Designer - XANA 

Movement Director - Iskandar Sharazuddin 

Fight Director - Bret Yount

Casting Director - Arthur Carrington

Assistant Director - Neetu Singh

Production Manager – Chris Burr

Wellbeing Practitioner - Eshmit Kaur

Stage Manager - Stacey Nurse

Assistant Stage Manager - Masha Kononovs

Tahir - Diyar Bozkurt

Shashi/Mrs B - Ayesha Dharker

Nikita - Zainab Hasan

The Fawn - Dominic Holmes

Riya - Safiyya Ingar

A co-production between Kali Theatre and New Diorama Theatre. Co-commissioned by New Diorama Theatre.

Reviewer Bio:
Namoo is a director, playwright, and librettist from Korea. Her work has been performed in the UK, USA, South Korea, and Japan. Recently, she was a finalist for the New York Dramatists Guild’s National Fellowship. She holds an MFA in Theatre Directing from Birkbeck College, London, and an MFA in Playwriting from the Tisch School of the Arts, New York.