Review: Darkling, Bush Theatre

Linnea Berthelsen in Darkling, Bush Theatre. Photo: Alex Brenner A happy childhood in a play is like having a Chekhov’s gun: you are waiting for it to go off, for something to go wrong and Darkling at the Bush Theatre is no different. I confess I knew nothing of Bhopal, where the play is set, and so my thoughts were going in all different directions about what might unfold, but nothing prepared me. She (Linnea Berthelsen) lives with her father and sister and is a bubbly, happy child despite the poverty. A solo performance, it is a beautiful portrayal bringing to life a childlike energy, innocence, honesty and vivid imagination. When construction begins on a large factory, She describes it as creature-like, looming over the community, which in turn is excited, seeing it as a source of optimism and excitement for the potential jobs it will bring. She is a dreamer. She is ambitious. She wants to run the factory. She wants more than marriage and to live with her sister somewhere…