King Troll (The Fawn)
by Sonali Bhattacharyya
4 October – 2 November | New Diorama Theatre
Two migrant sisters Riya and Nikita navigate the increasingly authoritarian island where they live in wildly different ways – both insecure, stateless and desperate for somewhere to call ‘home’
Riya is offered the chance to create an advocate in the form of a homunculus, or fawn and sees a chance to elevate herself above the cruelty meted out to others
Nikita tries to keep her saviour complex in check as she negotiates the challenges and hypocrisy of the third sector where she supports migrant teenagers. A deep connection with one client forces her to confront the limitations of her work
King Troll is about the troll that lives within all of us – whispering ‘me, not us’, and definitely ‘me first’
King Troll (The Fawn) was a finalist for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Playwriting.
“Big, angry bear,
Drags you by the hair,
Rough, wet tongue,
Licks you ‘til you cum.
Sharp, curved claws,
Tear your silky drawers,
Smooth, arched back,
Hear your spine go crack.”
Writer Sonali Bhattacharyya is an award-winning playwright whose stage plays include Arabian Nights (Bristol Old Vic), Two Billion Beats (Orange Tree Theatre) and Chasing Hares (Young Vic/Theatre Uncut) winner of the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award and the Sonia Friedman Production Award
Director Milli Bhatia is a stage and screen director, and dramaturg. She is a two-time Olivier Award nominee, for her productions of seven methods of killing kylie jenner and Blue Mist – both premiered at The Royal Court Theatre
A co-production with New Diorama Theatre
Originally commissioned for Kali Theatre’s HOME Plays week
Writer Sonali Bhattacharyya
Sonali Bhattacharyya is an award-winning playwright whose stage plays include Arabian Nights (Bristol Old Vic), Two Billion Beats (Orange Tree Theatre) and Chasing Hares (Young Vic/Theatre Uncut) winner of the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award and the Sonia Friedman Production Award.
About the writerWriter Sonali Bhattacharyya is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her stage plays include Arabian Nights (Bristol Old Vic), The Jungle Book (Chichester Festival Theatre), Chasing Hares (Young Vic/Theatre Uncut) – winner of the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award and the Sonia Friedman Production Award, Silence (Tara Theatre/Donmar Warehouse) and Two Billion Beats (Orange Tree Theatre). Two Billion Beats received its Korean premiere at Seoul’s Kirkos Theatre in 2022.
Sonali is part of the writing team for new television drama The Split Up from Sister Pictures. Her recent Augmented Reality projects include Ghosts of Solid Air (Anagram) and Through the Cracks (English Touring Theatre). She’s currently under commission to Bristol Old Vic and Fifth Word/Nottingham Playhouse.
Director Milli Bhatia (she/her) is a theatre, film and radio director, and dramaturg from East London. She is an Associate Artist at Synergy. She was an Associate Director at The Royal Court, Associate Artist at The Bush Theatre, Resident Assistant Director at Birmingham Rep and Creative Associate at The Gate Theatre. Her training includes the National Theatre Director’s Programme and The Old Vic 12. She is a two-time Olivier Award nominee, for her productions of seven methods of killing kylie jenner and Blue Mist, both premiered at The Royal Court Theatre. Other work as Director includes Blue Mist by Mohamed-Zain Dada (Royal Court), seven methods of killing kylie jenner by Jasmine Lee-Jones (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs 2019, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs 2021, Film 2022, Public Theater New York and Woolly Mammoth Washington DC 2023), seven methods of killing kylie jenner (Swedish language production at Riksteatern, Swedish National Theatre, national tour 2022 & selected to return for the Biennale, Dramaten in 2023), Chasing Hares by Sonali Bhattacharyya (Young Vic), Maryland by Lucy Kirkwood (Co-Director, Royal Court/South Bank Centre), My White Best Friend and other letters left unsaid (Bunker 2018/2019, Royal Court 2020), Dismantle This Room by Nina Segal (Bush Theatre/transferred to Royal Court), Baghdaddy by Jasmine Naziha Jones (Royal Court), This Liquid Earth by Amy Jephta (Royal Court/Edinburgh International Festival), HomeBODY by Jasmine Lee-Jones (Young Vic), Yash Gill’s Power Half Hour by Nikesh Shukla, The Hijabi Monologues (Bush Theatre), Living Newspaper (Royal Court), Ghosts In The Blood by Joel Tan (Audible).