King Troll (The Fawn)

'I'll do anything for you. I can do anything for you.'

Nikita and Riya are two South Asian sisters: insecure, stateless and desperate for somewhere to call 'home'.

Nikita's work with young migrants requires her to keep her saviour complex in check as she negotiates the challenges and hypocrisy of the third sector. Meanwhile, 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.

Sonali Bhattacharyya's play King Troll (The Fawn) is a dark and dystopian exploration of migrant experiences in all their complexity – and the troll that lives within all of us, whispering 'me, not us', and definitely 'me first'. It was a finalist for the 2023 Women's Prize for Playwriting, and was first performed as a co-production between Kali Theatre and New Diorama Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Milli Bhatia.

'Awesome and unsettling... a play that warns, frights and chills us to the bone... There is gore and plenty of jump scares. But Bhattacharyya's play is also a meticulous exploration of the migrant experience, that tackles the deep injustices of border control head-on... a thumping parable, it sizzles and stings... Hell has been realised'— Time Out

'A nerve-jangling thriller that never lets up... a cracking show that nudges activist drama into atavistic horror... superbly unnerving'— Guardian

'A brilliant parable for our times, combining impish humour with social fury'— The Stage

'Strikes a careful balance between thriller, political drama and comedy... Bhattacharyya's writing is sharper than ever... she also writes a killer plot'— WhatsOnStage

'Captures the heartache and urgency of our times with a spine-tingling poignancy'— Broadway World

'A wickedly clever exposure of state racism and anti-immigration sentiment packed to the punch with humour and spookiness'— A Youngish Perspective

'Brilliant, vital and fresh... horror at its best'— The Spy in the Stalls

'Awesome and unsettling... a play that warns, frights and chills us to the bone... There is gore and plenty of jump scares. But Bhattacharyya's play is also a meticulous exploration of the migrant experience, that tackles the deep injustices of border control head-on... a thumping parable, it sizzles and stings... Hell has been realised'

'A nerve-jangling thriller that never lets up... a cracking show that nudges activist drama into atavistic horror... superbly unnerving'

'A brilliant parable for our times, combining impish humour with social fury'

'Strikes a careful balance between thriller, political drama and comedy... Bhattacharyya's writing is sharper than ever... she also writes a killer plot'

'Captures the heartache and urgency of our times with a spine-tingling poignancy'

'A wickedly clever exposure of state racism and anti-immigration sentiment packed to the punch with humour and spookiness'

'Brilliant, vital and fresh... horror at its best'

Sonali Bhattacharyya is an award-winning playwright whose plays include: King Troll (The Fawn) (Kali Theatre/New Diorama, London, 2024); Liberation Squares (Fifth Word tour, 2024); Chasing Hares (Young Vic, London, 2022); Two Billion Beats (Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, 2022; an earlier version was staged by the Orange Tree in 2021 as part of their Inside/Outside season), Megaball (National Theatre Learning), 2066 (Almeida Theatre), The Invisible Boy (Kiln Theatre) and White Open Spaces (Pentabus Theatre).Chasing Hares was the winner of Theatre Uncut's 2021 Political Playwriting Award.(Author photo by Helen Murray)

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