Darkling – Bush Theatre review

Linnea Berthelsen as She

An intimate perspective on the suffering caused by Bhopal – the chemical leak that was the world’s worst industrial disaster

To those alive at the time, the twin tragedies at Bhopal in India in 1984 and at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 are remembered as appalling man-made disasters, moments of global horror that were hard to comprehend fully.

The nuclear incident affected neighbouring countries and continues to haunt us; a warning that any compromises in the construction or maintenance of such facilities can have catastrophic, lasting effects.

Bhopal, however, has largely faded from memory despite being the world’s worst industrial disaster.

A chemical leak resulted in a highly toxic gas escaping into the neighbourhood around the plant, leading to thousands of deaths in the immediate aftermath and an estimated half million others suffering debilitating long term conditions; a shocking, toxic legacy for that region which lasts to this day.

It is this incident that is the subject of Titas Halder’s play, Darkling, currently playing at the Bush Theatre. This remarkable piece, written in verse for a single actor, named only as “She” is performed by Linnea Berthelsen.

The play deals only obliquely with the disaster at first, small hints are there, gradually building as the new chemical plant takes shape on the edge of the town and starts to dominate the landscape. Of course, we know how this will turn out, but when the end comes it is no less traumatic.

Halder’s trick is to draw us into an individual’s life; we see everything through her eyes, share her hopes and dreams, her wonder at the world and even her optimism inspired by the engineering wonder that is the emerging plant, presided over by the men “with white skin, wearing white shirts.”

At age 11, She wants to be a scientist but is made to feel foolish; at 12, she dreams of escape to a big city with her older sister, later she meets a boy who she seems to like, and so on. Gradually, this family drama darkens until one night when all certainties are swept away.

The passage of time is marked by simple sound effects and blinking lighting to suggest we are watching a slide show, looking back over a life.

It’s an elegant device but doesn’t quite sit comfortably with the present tense blank verse of the play which is always immediate and in the moment.

Berthelsen brings considerable charm to her character’s early years, her physical embodiment of youthful energy only slowly giving way to the weight of her understanding of the hopelessness of her dreams.

Director Matthew Xia keeps her moving, she is forever restless and, depending where you sit, some of the dialogue is lost but she pulls us back in, demanding our attention, it’s a committed performance.

The causes of the tragedy at Bhopal are well known now and not glossed over here but it is the effect on the human lives of the thousands of victims that concerns Halder.

His dense, poetic script takes us to the heart of the matter as it effects the individual and it is not a comfortable watch. It is, however, an important reminder of a shocking and shameful incident; a warning perhaps, from recent history.

Darkling plays at the Bush Theatre to 24 October.

All photos credited to Alex Brenner

Simon Thomsett has worked in the professional theatre for a number of years. He started out as a stage manager and technician then became a venue director and producer, notably at the Hackney Empire, Fairfield Halls and most recently the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

He now works as a consultant and on some small scale producing projects. He is a Chiswick resident and a passionate advocate for great theatre.