★★★★★

“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.

DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME at @SohoPlace

★★★★

“Duncan-Brewster and Doherty are simply thrilling to watch”

“Closing Time” is the third instalment of the “Death of England” trilogy of plays by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams. It has been a month since the first two – “Michael” and “Delroy”. During these first two monologues we were introduced to two off stage characters: Michael’s sister, Carly; and Delroy’s mother, Denise. We feel we know them both already such was the dynamic story telling of the actors. The anticipation is high as we wait to meet them in the flesh. We are not disappointed. From the moment Denise (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) and Carly (Erin Doherty) explode onto the stage we know we are in for another high-octane, scatter-gun ninety minutes of thought-provoking drama.

This time, though, it moves a little too fast. We are given no room to breathe as the two monologues compete and merge, overlap and clash, like a frantic tarantella dance; both women looking to purge the poisons that seem to have inflicted themselves and those around them. They spit and they rant, never knowing whether to attack or embrace. They attract and repel each other in equal measure, but therein lies our reservations. We, too, are unsure how far to be drawn in. Although there is no fourth wall there is an invisible barrier that keeps us at arm’s length this time. Perhaps there is just too much ranting (the monarchy, racism, colonialism, cancel culture, white privilege) or the delivery is just simply too fast, but we are less moved by the end than we were by their predecessors.

Duncan-Brewster’s Denise is simply captivating, however, as the accomplished yet frustrated chef. On her way to her dream, she has been running a food business in the East End. But it is closing down – or rather being closed down. Helping her pack up is her ‘daughter-in-sin’, Carly. Doherty gives a fierce, fire-cracker performance, her character sweeping the stage like a tornado. There is no eye of the storm, and Carly has no eye on the consequences of her actions. Her rebellious energy is intricately misplaced, epitomised in a drunken outburst (hilarious, yet ideologically as unsound as you can get) that is captured on camera and sent viral. Our cancel culture is brutally examined as these ill-chosen words lead to the collapse of Denise’s business. The causes and effects are brilliantly and dramatically evoked as the two actors swing between blame, forgiveness, defiance and pleading.

Still present is Benjamin Grant’s and Pete Malkin’s powerful and atmospheric sound design with its orchestral stabs, muted underscoring and thrilling realism; complemented by Jackie Shemesh’s lighting with its staccato shifts in perfect rhythm to the dialogue. The leitmotifs are all there, but the familiarity now lends an air of predictability. Similarly, we also start to feel that the characters’ views belong more to the writers; an impression that was absent in the first two monologues. Yet, despite a creeping impartiality in the text, we ultimately feel the magnetism of, and empathise with, these two broken personalities who show us that reconciliation is never completely out of reach. Duncan-Brewster and Doherty are simply thrilling to watch.

A month ago, I wrote that plays like “Death of England” are what keep English theatre well and truly alive – beating in the heart of the West End like the vital organ it is. By the time we reach “Closing Time” the sentiment still holds true, if a little wavering by now. But any signs of arrhythmia are swiftly curtailed by the outstanding performances.

Tag Archives: Helen Murray

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

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME

★★★★

@SohoPlace

DEATH OF ENGLAND: CLOSING TIME at @SohoPlace

★★★★

“Duncan-Brewster and Doherty are simply thrilling to watch”