A poetic script fails to capture real horror of Bhopal disaster

By the Editorial Team · Friday, September 18, 2026

The new solo play "Darkling," performed at London’s Bush Theatre and starring Linnea Berthelsen, dramatizes the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster through the eyes of a young girl growing up amidst the tragedy. While it brings attention to a historically significant industrial accident, critics argue that its poetic monologue format and narrative choices limit its ability to fully capture the event’s scale and systemic causes.

A new theatrical production seeks to revisit the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, the world’s deadliest industrial accident, through a dramatic monologue performed at London’s Bush Theatre. "Darkling," written by Titas Halder and directed by Matthew Xia, places a young girl’s coming of age against the backdrop of the catastrophic toxic gas leak in the Indian city of Bhopal, which caused thousands of deaths and long-term suffering.

The solo performance marks the UK stage debut of actor Linnea Berthelsen, known for her role as Kali in the Netflix series "Stranger Things." Berthelsen portrays a young girl whose early life is depicted with moments of innocence and joy, including playing in the rain and enjoying simple meals. The set design by Simon Kenny features soil-filled elements, and Rajiv Pattani’s lighting projections evoke the looming presence of a new factory as the narrative unfolds.

Despite these creative choices, the production has drawn mixed reactions for its approach to conveying the scale and horror of the disaster. The monologue format offers a continuous poetic narrative from the perspective of the unnamed narrator, without dramatic interplay or external challenge to the story. This technique results in a stream of descriptive language that some observers feel falls short of adequately capturing the tragedy’s magnitude.

Critics note that the pacing spends considerable time on childhood innocence before shifting abruptly into trauma, culminating in a closing segment that focuses blame for the disaster on individual actions rather than broader systemic factors. The ending also introduces a repeated narrative that appears to link female identity closely with motherhood, a choice that some have viewed as incongruous with the overall theme.

While the production highlights an often overlooked event in global industrial history, its rendering of the Bhopal tragedy may not fully convey the depth of suffering experienced by victims and survivors. "Darkling" aims to raise awareness but faces the challenge of translating such a complex and harrowing episode into a solo theatrical experience.

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