Darkling Tickets at the Bush Theatre
A girl grows up in the shadow of a new factory in Bhopal, India, until the night in 1984 when it leaks gas over the city. Linnea Berthelsen, Kali in Stranger Things, plays her alone.
- Running time
- 90m, no interval
- Age
- 14+
- Venue
- Bush Theatre, near Shepherd's Bush Market
- Performances
- Sat 7:30pm
Page updated 12 November 2026
This show has closed
Played at Bush Theatre from 5 Sep 2026 to 24 Oct 2026.
What Tickets Cost
Tickets start from around £10 and go up to around £40, at every performance. Seats are reserved. All-in pricing, the price you see is what you pay.
Performance Schedule
| Day | Matinee | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 7:30pm | |
| Tuesday | 7:30pm | |
| Wednesday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Thursday | 7:30pm | |
| Friday | 7:30pm | |
| Saturday | 2:30pm | 7:30pm |
| Sunday | No performance |
The last performance is Saturday 24 October at 7:30pm. An evening show finishes at about 9pm.
Book Your Darkling Tickets
Tickets from around £10, for a run that ends on 24 October. All-in pricing, the price you see is what you pay.
Book tickets • Call us on 020 7193 9050
Where to Sit
Darkling plays in the Holloway Theatre, the Bush's main space, and it's small enough that nobody is far from the stage. The lighting points out towards the audience at times, particularly at the front of Block C, so if bright light bothers you, book elsewhere.
What's Darkling About?
A girl lives with her father and her older sister in Bhopal, in central India. The three of them do everything together. Then a factory starts to go up over the town, and as she grows older she starts wanting more from life, the way her mother always did.
The play follows her through childhood and into the night in December 1984 when gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant and poisoned the city, and then on into what came after. It's told in seven sections, and the disaster itself comes late.
It's a one-woman show. Berthelsen plays the girl and everyone she meets, on a raised platform ringed with soil.
Who's Darkling For?
People who want serious new writing in a small theatre, anyone curious about the history of Bhopal, and Stranger Things fans who want to see Berthelsen in her London stage debut. It's a hard watch: the content list is long, and the play ends very bleakly.
Darkling News and Reviews
Darkling opened at the Bush in September and plays until 24 October, before a UK tour.
London Theatre gave it three stars and called it "Titas Halder’s unsparing solo play". Time Out found it slow to reach the disaster, but called Halder's attempt "to put the lives of the people behind the headlines centre stage" potent.
Cast and Creative Team
Linnea Berthelsen plays the girl. She is best known as Kali in Stranger Things, and was in Alex Garland's Devs. Darkling is her London stage debut.
Written by Titas Halder, Associate Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse. Directed by Matthew Xia. Design by Simon Kenny, lighting by Rajiv Pattani, sound by Beth Duke, music by Niraj Chag and movement by Anjali Mehra. A Bush Theatre and Actors Touring Company co-production.
Getting to the Bush Theatre
The Bush is at 7 Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ, in the old public library building next to Shepherd's Bush Market. Shepherd's Bush Market station (Hammersmith & City and Circle lines) is about a minute away. Shepherd's Bush station on the Central line, and the Overground station, are about six minutes' walk.
Buses stop right outside on Uxbridge Road and Shepherd's Bush Green: the 72, 94, 95, 148, 207, 220, 260, 272, 295 and SL8 all stop within about 150 metres. The 237 stops on Shepherd's Bush Road, about three minutes away.
The Library Bar opens before the show for drinks and snacks. More in our Bush Theatre guide.
Accessible Performances
There's an audio-described performance on Thursday 15 October at 7:30pm. No captioned, signed or relaxed performances are listed for the rest of the run. You can book a wheelchair space at any performance, and the front row of the Holloway Theatre is reached without steps. Access bookings are handled by the Bush's own team, not by us.
Darkling FAQs
How long is Darkling?
About 90 minutes, with no interval.
What age is Darkling suitable for?
The Bush recommends it for ages 14 and up. It includes descriptions of sexual violence, including against children, as well as death, pregnancy loss, abuse and strong language, and there are haze, flashing lights and a moment of complete darkness at the end. The Bush publishes a full self-care guide.
Can I get in if I'm late?
Possibly not. The Bush says latecomers may not be admitted, and with no interval there's no set point to let you in. Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before, no later.
Is Darkling a true story?
The girl is invented, but the disaster is real: the gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal in December 1984.
