You’ll know Linnea Berthelsen from the global Netflix hit series Stranger Things in which she plays the character Kali Prasad, No 8, sister to Milly Bobbie Brown.
Now stepping away from the screen to make her stage debut in Darkling, Titas Halder‘s new coming-of-age story about a girl growing up as the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster hits India, Linnea is relishing the challenge.
“I really wanted to do this,” Linnea says, “because I was completely disarmed by my character SHE, an enigmatic six-year-old girl who stole my heart from the first read.”
‘I really wanted to do this because I was completely disarmed by my character’
Darkling relays one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes, as seen through SHE’s eyes, weaving memory and trauma into the visceral narrative to highlight the consequences of corporate malpractice, industrialisation on poorer nations, and raising urgent questions about environmental exploitation and the fight for justice.
A big change from Stranger Things then? “When I perform Darkling it takes me back to when I did Stranger Things – the hyper presence of a moment, the commitment it takes and the connection with the crew and camera. That intimacy.Â
“Live performances require so much physical stamina, energy and awareness of your body and voice — and this play, in particular, is a bit of a marathon,” she concedes.
Live performances require so much physical stamina, energy and awareness of your body and voice — and this play is a bit of a marathon
“But in many ways, TV and film has prepared me well for this; between my theatre training and being challenged by great directors over the years, I’ve felt ready to just jump in and it’s been incredible!” she says.
“And there are so many similarities between working on Stranger Things and Darkling, because I get to work closely with a team of wonderful creatives, and perform work that is quite intense and requires a lot of stamina.”
“And yet shooting some of my intense scenes on Stranger Things often required a similar physical stamina, so I approach both mediums with the same dedication.
‘When I perform Darkling it takes me back to when I did Stranger Things – the hyper presence of a moment, the commitment, the connection with the crew and camera, That intimacy’
“The difference comes from bringing the performance to a new audience every night, who shift the energy and the performance, which is an amazing challenge. I love that dynamic, and the notion that something exists because of the people in the room.”
Coming to Oxford’s North Wall from November 3-4, Linnea adds that Darkling also brings a great sense of responsibility: “I truly hope it will bring reflections on the consequences of our choices in this day and age of climate disasters, wars etc. But mostly, I hope that it makes us all think about how similar we are. (Child) SHE reminded me of that. “
‘it’s been an amazing opportunity for a debut’
Directed by Olivier Award-winning director Matthew Xia, Linnea adds: “Darkling is very vivid and conveys some incredibly important messages about injustice and neglect, which are immensely relevant, but a huge challenge.
“So while Matthew asks a lot from you, once you get your head round it, Darkling has been incredibly rewarding because he has an incredibly eye for storytelling.
“I tend to approach characters from a very emotional place, and being guided my Matthew has been incredible. He has made me a much better performer over such as short period of time. Put it this way, it’s been an amazing opportunity for a debut.”
Darkling, presented by Actors Touring Company & Bush Theatre, opens at The North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford on November 3 & 4. BOOK HERE
