Darkling
Bush Theatre
Playing until 24th October 2026
Photo credit: Alex Brenner
{PR Gifted ticket}
The central character of this show, a nameless young girl (Linnea Bertheslsen) was born in the slums of a city. Filled with childhood wonder, she is filled with excitement, keeping a keen eye on the people and things around her as she grows up, and dreams of a brighter future. However, life is cruel and her family is knocked back time and again with hardship. Holding onto the little she has; she faces the harsh truth of reality and succumbs to despair as an accident occurs in a nearby factory.
The script by Titas Halder is engaging, carefully crafted to convey the evolution of the young girl’s perception of the world. The world painted by the spoken dialogues is vivid and immerses the audience into not only the world in which our character lives in, but also the way in which she perceives it. As she trudges through the mud and sludge, the sound of it sounds unpleasant, but her reaction to it, at least in her youth, is playful. This creates a stark contrast to her struggles through the same streets following the accident at the factory, where every step she takes is heavy and fully of obstacles, ones that she could hardly overcome.
Under the direction of Matthew Xia and taking place on simple and functional a set designed by Simon Kenny, Darkling removes the distraction of set pieces and focuses the attention on the delivery of the descriptions and dialogues by Berthelsen. This is a wise creative choice as the beauty and ugliness of the place shifts drastically as time progresses, and is completely dependent on the mentality of the character as she grows up and gains valuable experiences.
This is not to say the set is devoid of life. By removing bricks from the flooring, Berthelsen is able to access water and even create a makeshift firepit. These are neatly buried away until the time calls for them. However, the bulk of the movement by our character does take place on a completely empty set as she steps on and off the platform. Although the minimalistic approach works to a degree, it can also begin to feel monotonous after the narrative has established itself. The lighting designed by Rajiv Pattani complements the stage, projecting a skeleton structure of a building site to the back of the stage each time the girl sees and thinks of the factory in her town.
It is worth highlighting that the factory has evolved during the course of the story and it would have been beneficial to see this reflected in the projection as the skeleton structure becomes more built up and decorated and then reverses as it falls into decline.
Berthelsen’s performance is emotive and she has grasped the fundamentals of the character during the course her journey from a child to a young girl and eventually a wife. She never stopped dreaming, they just changed. From dreaming that she could achieve anything and make them a reality to dreaming to escape from the harsh conditions she found herself in. Berthelsen adds a layer of frustration and sadness in her delivery in the second half of the play. The one thing I noticed, though minor, is that more room could be given to parts of the story that calls for a brief moment of silence. This could help build pause in the character’s life, cement significant turning points, and add to the weight the character bears.
Darkling reflects the harsh reality faced by those living in poverty, where one’s life is almost dictated before they were even born. Not everything could be achieved through hard work and dreaming, especially in a culture that tries its best to knock you down with every step you take.
Creatives
Writer: Titas Halder
Director: Matthew Xia
Designer: Simon Kenny
Lighting Designer: Rajiv Pattani
Sound Designer: Beth Duke
Composer: Niraj Chag
Movement Director: Anjali Mehra
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