★★★★★

“brilliant, vital and fresh”

As an art form theatre is rarely truly frightening. Often a show will be disquieting, or sinister, but as King Troll began, I was confronted with the unusual sensation of fear. From the initial shock factor of flashing floodlights, the play unravels into something complex and disconcerting. It is thought provoking and moving and is horror at its best.

Two sisters, Nikita and Riya, are struggling to find enough documentation to ensure Riya’s resident status on ‘the island’. Nikita is the provider, the older sister and the expert on what is needed. She works for a refugee charity. Riya is the lost little sister. The ‘albatross’ around Nikita’s neck. In desperation they contact a reclusive friend of their mother’s, who gives them a magical gift which will change their lives – The ability to build a man, a man who will dote on them, or ‘a fawn’. But as with all magically made creatures, he is more than they could ever predict.

Sonali Bhattacharyya’s script is peculiar and beautifully written. The sisters are hilarious and their bond feels so real. The magic is delightfully sinister and the commentary on migrants’ rights is vital and potent. The idea of creating this white man, who will fawn on the sisters, is the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the injustice of the system. In one moment, The Fawn echoes everything that Nikita says, but he is believed where she was ignored. Marrying the abstract fear of the Home Office’s racist laws and the tangible fear of this Frankenstein’s Monster is a clever and unusual take.

Milli Bhatia’s direction shines in the moments of physicality. One particular moment of violence turns to tenderness in a cleverly crafted exploration of power. Each character is allowed light and shade and their own moment to be the star.

The cast are all phenomenal. Zainab Hasan and Safiyya Ingar carry the story as the two sisters. Both are angry and witty and strong pillars in a play which could feel disjointed. Diyar Bozkurt is heart-breaking as Tahir, Nikita’s undocumented friend, and his is the true heart of this play. However, the scene stealers are Ayesha Dharker and Dominic Holmes. Dharker bursts from the stage with comic and sinister oddness, both as the slick and casually cruel landlord and the wide-eyed recluse. Holmes’ eerie performance shines in his uncanny physicality as The Fawn, but he also deftly handles more naturalistic moments.

Rajha Shakiry’s set knits the different story strands together. Brutalist concrete columns connect barbed wire and piles of earth and sand, in the background of a cosy sitting room. The while tiled floor dirties with blood and mud, as these worlds collapse into one another.

XANA’s sound design complements the eerie atmosphere with voiceover and timely music. Elliot Griggs’ lighting is startling and disquieting, often flashing like a jarring floodlight, or providing the soft lamplight of the sisters’ flat.

This play will divide audiences, not down political lines but lines of weirdness. However, for many (myself included) it is brilliant, vital and fresh.

THE LONELY LONDONERS at Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★

“an energetic and stylish play that could easily become a classic”

Adapted by esteemed British playwright Roy Williams, The Lonely Londoners at the Jermyn Street Theatre is the first staging of British-Trinidadian Sam Selvon’s 1956 novel. It’s somewhat surprising that the material hasn’t been adapted before, given the popularity of Windrush stories like Andrea Levy’s Small Island, adapted for the small screen in 2009 and staged at the National Theatre in 2019. That being said, it’s a pleasure to see the material in Williams’ hands with a script full of clever dialogue and a plot that, through the exploration of individual stories, allows for variety and nuance that creates a sophisticated, textural piece.

The drama centres around Moses Aloetta, Gamba Cole, a charismatic and well-connected Caribbean emigré with a cigarette surgically attached to his hand as he and his friends try to make their way in London. We meet the happy-go-lucky Big City, Gilbert Kyem Jnr, full of malapropisms based on London’s streets and boroughs, eager to put on a dance for the community. There’s Lewis, Tobi Bakare, recently out of work and worried about the arrival of his wife Agnes, Shannon Hayes, and mother, Carol Moses. And finally Henry ‘Galahad’ Oliver, fresh off the boat train with nothing but his pyjamas and toothbrush ready to take London by storm. Moses connects and grounds the group but is haunted by the image of the love he left behind in Trinidad. As the group gain experience of the city and its aggressive inhabitants, fear creeps in that this could all end in ruin. Fortunately, whilst the end does indeed bring sadness for some, it is not wholly an unhappy ending.

Performances from the whole cast are impeccable, each demonstrating an impressive emotional range in under two hours. The men are all degrees of cheeky and charming, lost and lonesome, and aggressive and angry. The women display similar range, gleeful at their small triumphs and despairing of the challenges they face. This is perhaps most dramatically exemplified by Romario Simpson as Galahad as we see his realisation from wide-eyed new arrival to a literally battered and bruised shell – his monologue denouncing the English for their unchecked racism is a powerful performance. It’s also worth praising the authentic Caribbean accents, coached to perfection by Aundrea Fudge.

There are, however, some odd directorial choices which break the drama. The dialogue is so rich that there are no ambiguities – these characters are talking from the heart at all times and we understand their fears, hopes and frustrations through what they say. Director Ebenezer Bamgboye’s choice to also include elements of physical theatre to show, for example, how the men support each other when the going gets tough is not necessary; we have already heard it.

On the other hand, the inclusion of contemporary music of black origin throughout the piece (Protoje’s ‘Who Knows’ beautifully sung live by Aimee Powell, a couple of Michael Kiwanuka tracks and more) subtly reminds you that, whilst this is a historical drama, the themes and experiences portrayed are, unfortunately, not resigned to history books.

Lighting by Elliot Griggs enhances the drama – whether through slow fade-ins that subtly draw your attention across the stage away from the action, or through dramatic bursts of light that ignite a fight. There is also clever use of flash bulbs on the back of the stage which are programmed to situate scenes by their postcodes, or show a graphic image which add fun and interest to the studio theatre.

The Lonely Londoners is an energetic and stylish play that could easily become a classic just like its source material. Although speaking to a specific moment in time, it’s themes of migration, racism and isolation resonate across the years. But it is the hopeful message of friendship and resilience, particularly through humour, that set this show apart and make it an enjoyable as well as educational watch.

Tag Archives: Elliot Griggs

KING TROLL (THE FAWN)

★★★★★

New Diorama Theatre

KING TROLL (THE FAWN) at the New Diorama Theatre

★★★★★

“brilliant, vital and fresh”

KING TROLL (THE FAWN) at the New Diorama Theatre

Reviewed on 8th October 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Helen Murray

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BRENDA’S GOT A BABY | ★★★ | November 2023

AFTER THE ACT | ★★★★★ | March 2023

PROJECT DICTATOR | ★★½ | April 2022

KING TROLL

KING TROLL

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THE LONELY LONDONERS

★★★★

Jermyn Street Theatre

THE LONELY LONDONERS at Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★

“an energetic and stylish play that could easily become a classic”