King Troll (The Fawn)
by Sonali Bhattacharyya
4 October – 2 November | New Diorama Theatre
Captioned 7:30pm, Thur 24 Oct | Relaxed 7:30pm, Wed 30 Oct | Babes-in-Arms 2pm, Thur 31 Oct
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’
The play 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
King Troll (The Fawn) includes blood, physical violence, descriptions of torture and gore, strong language and sexual content. Age guidance 14+
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 writerCAST
Tahir – Diyar Bozkurt
Shashi/Mrs B – Ayesha Dharker
Nikita – Zainab Hasan
The Fawn – Dominic Holmes
Riya – Safiyya Ingar
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer – Sonali Bhattacharyya
Director – Milli Bhatia
Movement Director – Iskandar Sharazuddin
Designer – Rajha Shakiry
Design Associate – Yimei Zhao
Lighting Designer – Elliot Griggs
Composer & Sound Designer – XANA
Fight Director – Bret Yount
Voice Coach – Gurkiran Kaur
Casting Director – Arthur Carrington
Assistant Director – Neetu Singh
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Manager – Chris Burr
Stage Manager – Alexandra Kataigida
Assistant Director – Neetu Singh
Wardrobe Supervisor – Katie Whyte
Artist Wellbeing Practitioner – Eshmit Kaur
Sonali Bhattacharyya is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her stage plays include Liberation Squares (Fifth Word/Nottingham Playhouse/Brixton House) – nominated for two OffWestEnd Awards, 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. Her recent writing for Augmented Reality includes Through the Cracks (English Touring Theatre), starring Sophie Melville and Ian McKellan. She’s currently under commission to Manhattan Theatre Club and her contemporary adaptation of The Little Mermaid opens at Bristol Old Vic this Christmas. www.sonaliwrites.com
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).