Review: King Troll (The Fawn) (New Diorama Theatre)

Review by Harry Bower

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It’s coming up to Halloween aka spooky season which means it’s the perfect time to head to New Diorama to catch King Troll (The Fawn), a ‘dark and otherworldly thriller’ which opened at the Regents Park powerhouse studio theatre this week. What you find there though will be less apparitions and jump scares, and more an unsettling mirror held up to our inner selves revealing the monster within…

Written by Sonali Bhattacharyya and directed by Olivier Award nominated director Milli Bhatia, King Troll (The Fawn) is, on the face of it, an entirely fictional piece of work. Two South Asian sisters, exact origin unknown, battle the immigration system on their home ‘island’, deal with the fallout of dodgy landlords, and a rapidly gentrifying neighbourhood. In reality, these stories are deep rooted in the lived experiences of people in the UK. 

Riya and Nikita are sisters alone and stateless. Daughters to a mother who passed away a few years ago, their existence at ‘home’ relies on job sponsors and an upcoming right-to-remain interview. While Nikita goes to work at a charity tasked with helping undocumented migrants navigate home office tests and paperwork, Riya stays in the flat, panicking about her future. It is Riya whose journey is transformed in the most dramatic of ways when while in search of some proof about their mother’s work as a cleaner some time ago, the pair stumble upon an old friend of hers. This friend - a delightfully eccentric old South Asian lady - is presumably an ally, and offers Riya the opportunity to solve all her problems. 

Without giving away too much of the plot, Riya finds herself spawning her very own ‘Fawn’, a sort of subservient troll which learns human behaviour and accompanies her in life, fixing her problems and charming her enemies. Jonathan, as he is named, is a reflection of the inner troll within all of us. The selfish voice that we beat down; the unconscious bias within us all, and the ugly side of our personalities. It’s a clever vehicle for a running commentary on how complicated human beings are and how much we fight against our instincts for a better version of society.

As with seemingly all New Diorama commissions, production value is exceptionally high. For such a small space the consistency with which I enter and say “woah” is remarkable. Here, the edges of the studio are surrounded by exhausted metal fencing which looks sharp and inhospitable. The doll house cut-out of a living room fills stage right, with a handful of basic chairs and lighting fixtures dotted around. Floor tiles look as though they’ve been in place for decades, and the walls are teeming with dirt. There are piles of soil up against the edges of each structure. This is a worn and live-in environment which is shown and provides very little love to those living within it. Elliot Griggs’ lighting design beautifully illuminates each corner, casting delicate shadows and blinding strobe, reflecting spooky flickering televisions and bright, sterile office environments. 

An original score is composed by sound designer XANA, and it is both seamless and terrifying. Anticipation is ramped up with a dramatic drone and at times it seems you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Then, in a split second, the sound and lighting design intersects to transition into the next scene. This work in tandem is slick and a brilliant tool employed to regulate the pace of the drama.

Performances are impressive across the board and a testament to casting director Arthur Carrington. Zainab Hasan’s Nikita and Safiyya Ingar’s Riya are perhaps the two most challenging roles given the speed of transformation and emotional depth required of them. Both are solid throughout and, despite some line delivery fumbles on press night, their chemistry is hugely convincing as sisters. Three supporting actors complete the cast of five, and each is as skilled as the other in crafting memorable characters. Ayesha Dharker plays old lady Shashi, and the clearly-Tory-landlady, Mrs B. She is a delight, with wicked comic timing and a naughty glint in her eye. Diyar Bozkurt’s Tahir is heartbreakingly vulnerable and brings a much needed grounding to the narrative which prevents it from jumping the shark.

The standout performance is in Dominic Holmes’ gangly, sometimes robotic, confusing, and captivating Fawn. It’s rare to see a performance in which all reality is suspended by one person’s body movement alone, but that’s what happens here. The physicality on display is exceptional, as is their commitment to making the audience feel as uncomfortable as possible while not being able to look away, even for a moment. 

My criticism of the piece is in its pacing, and the journey to its conclusion. I actually like the ending - which I won’t ruin here - but ended up leaving the theatre feeling like I had whiplash by the unclear way in which the play jumps forward in time so rapidly. Movement pieces used throughout are presumably designed to illustrate a sense of being one with your inner monster and to demonstrate Riya’s submission to temptation, but against the backdrop of the chilling score and blinding strobe, in reality this ends up being just a bit weird and unconvincing.

King Troll (The Fawn) is an experience perfectly suited to the season. As a reflection back at its audience of their inner monster, it’s effective and pretty scary. As a piece of theatre it is entertaining, fun, a bit unsettling, a little silly, and objectively high quality - but not perfect. With a bit of tweaking and some more focus in the latter scenes its impact would be far greater.

King Troll (The Fawn) plays at New Diorama Theatre until 2nd November 2024. For more information visit: https://newdiorama.com/whats-on/king-troll-the-fawn  

Photos by Helen Murray