King Troll (The Fawn)

A dystopian tale about the corrosive impact of state racism and the monster within two migrant sisters.
 
Finalist for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Playwriting, King Troll (The Fawn) is a dark and otherworldly thriller about two South Asian sisters, desperate to escape the border regime without losing their humanity. Is that even possible on this island? A dystopian exploration of migrant experiences in all their complexity.
 
Riya and Nikita navigate the increasingly authoritarian island where they live in wildly different ways. Insecure, stateless, both desperate for somewhere to call ‘home’.
 
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.
 
Nikita tries to keep her saviour complex in check as she negotiates the challenges and hypocrisy of the third sector, where she supports young migrants. Her deep connection with one client forces her to confront the limitations of her work.  
 
King Troll is about the troll that lives within all of us – whispering ‘me, not us’, and definitely ‘me’ first.  
 
“Big, angry bear,  
Drags you by the hair,  
Rough, wet tongue,
Licks you ‘til you cum.  
Sharp, curved claws,
Tear your silky drawers,  
Smooth, arched back,  
Hear your spine go crack.”