International screen star Linnea Berthelsen will make her UK stage debut in the world premiere of Darkling, a new play by Titas Halder directed by Actors Touring Company Artistic Director Matthew Xia.
Best known for her role as Kali Prasad (008) in Netflix’s global hit Stranger Things, Berthelsen will lead the solo production when it opens at the Bush Theatre on 5 September 2026 before touring to Birmingham Rep, The North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford and HOME Manchester through to 14 November.
Produced by Actors Touring Company and co-produced with the Bush Theatre, Darkling is described as a deeply poetic and visceral examination of the human impact of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster.
Set in Bhopal, India, the play follows a young girl growing up with her father and sister as industrialisation transforms her hometown. When catastrophe strikes, her life is changed forever.
The production explores themes of memory, trauma and environmental injustice, while examining the lasting consequences of corporate malpractice and ecological disaster.
Linnea Berthelsen said: “Matthew is someone I’ve admired and have hoped to collaborate with for many years. And after seeing and falling in love with Titas’ work on Foal, I knew that joining Darkling would be a special opportunity. Titas’ script is incredibly nuanced, human and very alive. I’m thrilled to be working with this exceptional creative team.”
Director Matthew Xia said: “It is a privilege to collaborate with Linnea, who will bring a magnetic intensity to the role. Titas has written an extraordinarily beautiful and poetic text, and working with a performer of Linnea’s calibre gives us the chance to make something epic, intimate and unmistakably theatrical.
“We are proud that Darkling sits at the very core of ATC’s mission: to champion globally minded contemporary theatre and bring these vital narratives to audiences across the UK.”
Playwright Titas Halder added: “I’m thrilled that Linnea will be performing in Darkling. When I wrote the piece; a human story about how an ecological disaster rips through one family, I could have never imagined that we would one day be making this play with such an extraordinary team, led by the brilliant Matthew Xia, and anchored by such a truly mesmeric actor as Linnea. I know she will bring a special and profound emotional depth to this solo play, a portrait of an entire life.”
The production marks 42 years since the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal and aims to shine a light on the continuing fight for environmental justice and corporate accountability.
The creative team includes designer Simon Kenny, lighting designer Rajiv Pattani, sound designer Beth Duke, movement director Anjali Mehra, composer Niraj Chag, casting director Shaheen Baig and associate director Sara Aniqah Malik.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
