★★★★★

“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.

SHIFTERS at the Bush Theatre

★★★★

“There are some lines of devastating simplicity that do a huge amount of emotional heavy lifting, showing off Lombe’s accomplishment and skill”

This hugely charismatic commission from the Bush Theatre toys and teases audiences’ hearts, not least down to the sparkling performances from actors Tosin Cole and Heather Agyepong. In many ways, this is a classic tale of young love being overtaken by other events in a similar model to Constellations, but writer Benedict Lombe adds depth through sensitive handling of grief, race, and the choices that push people apart.

Dre (credited as short for Dream – Cole) and Des (Destiny – Agyepong) have much in common. We meet them as 32 year olds, reunited after years apart, before tracking back to them first colliding as teenagers. Both are displaced from South London to an unnamed regional town where they are two of the few Black kids in their school. Dre drags Des into debate club, setting up their dialogues for the rest of the piece which encompass discussions on the nature of first love, the possibility of alternative worlds and free will, and the baggage from their families which is both a privilege and a burden.

Their conversations are sharp, filled with jousts and barbs, always managing to find an angle against each other to explore. Lombe’s script is packed, the quips constantly keeping up the pace, though in the final third more space is left around the text, allowing moments of silence and reflection before another sharp comment moves the scene along again. There are some lines of devastating simplicity that do a huge amount of emotional heavy lifting, showing off Lombe’s accomplishment and skill.

The direction of Lynette Linton is largely playful and naturalistic. The opening scenes are played for comedy, Agyepong doing an impeccable bit with her mouth full of puff puffs (or beignets, depending on who you’re asking). In more significant moments, small physical movements become imbued with meaning which becomes clearer as they are replayed time and time again: this emphasises the dizziness and entrapment of strong memories.

“Cole and Agyepong have real acting pedigree”

Staging is simple, bars of neon light framing a traverse stage which is empty except for four small black boxes ordered neatly at the edge. As the piece progresses, more of these boxes are introduced, an effective physical reminder of the clutter of memories. Lighting (Neil Austin) switches colours to indicate scene and timeline changes, then flickers subtly through the final scenes as tension comes to a head. Music effects are used well to recall tinny playbacks of old tracks on old phones, but when used as transition the balance is sometimes off, with it overwhelming the first few lines of speech.

Cole and Agyepong have real acting pedigree, and move around the stage freely, whether acting out teenage cringiness, or circulating each other as they explore what is beyond friendship. The magnetism of their connection feels inescapable from the off, and it is impossible to not root for them individually and together. They also do excellent impressions of the offstage characters, who never appear in their own right but have huge influence over Des and Dre.

The ambiguous ending felt appropriate and a sophisticated choice, though the denouement overall felt a little rushed. Maybe that was the point, that consequences can hinge on tiny sentences said or unsaid, especially when one character’s opportunity to move away intersects with another’s fear of abandonment. Still, with neither character having many palpable flaws it was hard to believe that this was all it took for the relationship to fall apart.

This aside, Shifters is a deeply perceptive sophomore piece from an undeniably talented writer, lovingly acted by the superb Cole and Agyepong.

Tag Archives: XANA

🎭 A TOP SHOW IN OCTOBER 2024 🎭

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

SHIFTERS

★★★★

Bush Theatre

SHIFTERS at the Bush Theatre

★★★★

“There are some lines of devastating simplicity that do a huge amount of emotional heavy lifting, showing off Lombe’s accomplishment and skill”

“Cole and Agyepong have real acting pedigree”