Director Annie Kershaw brings a bold new world premiere to the Finborough Theatre this spring with Foal, a gripping new play by Titas Halder. The production sees Kershaw collaborating with Halder on a fiercely contemporary story that blends thriller elements with poetic storytelling.
Set in the era of the Sony Walkman, Foal follows A.K. as they return to their hometown to confront buried secrets and inner demons. The production marks Amar Chadha‑Patel’s professional stage debut and is an intense one‑person exploration of masculinity, identity and retribution.
Foal runs at Finborough Theatre from 5–30 May 2026, with a press night on 8 May. Tickets can be booked here.
You’re directing Foal at Finborough Theatre, what can you tell us about the show?
It’s fast and furious one moment, gentle and beautiful the next. It shifts rapidly from dark, nightmarish scenes to moments of silliness and humour.
Amar Chadha-Patel, who plays AK, guides us through a series of scenes which build towards a pivotal event, and it feels like AK is looking to us as a jury, asking us to understand.
Foal is described as a lyrical, urgent revenge thriller set in the era of the Sony Walkman. What initially drew you to Titas Halder’s writing and this world?
Titas’ writing is remarkable for its specificity because he can link up details and suddenly weave them into big ideas that resonate universally. One moment, you’re reminiscing about your old Walkman, and the next, he’s linked a thought that takes you to broader themes such as identity and masculinity, offering up a new way to think about something.
I was also captivated by the lyrical quality of the text, especially the sections in verse, which evoke vivid imagery when performed in the correct rhythm. There’s something electric about watching a performer land it live onstage.
This is a one-person play and Amar Chadha-Patel’s professional stage debut. What have been the particular challenges and rewards of directing a solo performer in a piece like this?
Amar is an incredibly talented performer, so it has made my job feel easy. You wouldn’t guess it’s his professional debut. Of course, memorising and delivering such a large amount of text over 90 minutes is a challenge, but a few days into rehearsal he had learned the entire script, so it felt like that was barely a challenge because quickly we were able to get into detailed scene work.
Another of the main challenges in a solo performance is finding the storytelling language when you do not have a scene partner to do naturalistic dialogue or tell the story with.
The process of discovering how different parts of the space and the audience can support the performer in telling the story has been very creatively enriching. It asked us to think outside the box, especially for harder-to-stage moments such as how we portray ‘the other him’, AK’s other version of himself that sometimes he listens to when encountering difficult decisions in his life.
Once we explored that language, like deciding a lit-up orb on stage would portray or gesture towards ‘the other him’, we had to refine that language and find the logic, which is where Amar’s brilliant natural instincts came in very handy.
The play explores masculinity, compassion, and retribution. How have you approached these themes in rehearsal?
AK’s understanding of masculinity, compassion and retribution is shaped by his formative experiences. He’s a complex and, most importantly, imperfect lead character, so we would track how his previous bad experiences shape his belief system and therefore his future actions.
We approached the other characters with empathy, trying to understand their intentions and how their actions, driven by warped perceptions of ‘good’, led to harm. I believe most people genuinely think they’re acting with good intentions, even if their version of ‘good’ is skewed.
It sparked interesting discussions in rehearsal, especially around portraying toxic masculinity, lack of care, and racism without resorting to caricature or judgement. Our aim was to present these characters as real, because people like them do exist.
It is not our job to tell you how to feel about those characters and therefore it is not our job to tell you how to feel about the themes of the play. But if we can provoke questions or ideas about the themes by playing the truth of the scenes and characters, we are doing something right.
What does staging a world premiere at Finborough Theatre allow you to do as a director, particularly with new writing?
It is a great opportunity to focus on what is essential to tell the story. The Finborough Theatre is a gem of an intimate space and it is a joy to have the audience right there with the action. This closeness demands a clear visual language that distils the play’s core ideas into a small space.
I collaborated closely with set and costume designer Cara Evans on this. This was especially an exciting process on this piece of new writing because there are no stage directions in this play, so we really could explore lots of possibilities with its staging.
We had so many ideas about how to create meaning and evoke imagery. We would throw a lot of ideas at each other until they made sense and then distil them until they became something physical in the space, and under budget hopefully. This often means Cara managing to create something brilliant and cohesive in their design while I churn out a lot of bad ideas.
It pushed us to be precise and inventive in storytelling, often leading to symbolic and surreal moments.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Foal?
Foal is a profoundly human story, equal parts entertaining and thought provoking. It will give you plenty to brew on, chew on and discuss.
Amar Chadha-Patel’s performance is truly mesmerising. If I were you, I would book now to experience his brilliance live. He is going to make bigger and bigger waves in film and TV and is certainly heading towards bigger stages, so this is a rare opportunity to see him in an intimate space up close, playing a complex role in a powerful play.
