Darkling

Cast

• Linnea Berthelsen

  She

  
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  Linnea Berthelsen

  She

  Linnea Berthelsen is a British-trained Danish actress who resides in London.

  Linnea is perhaps best known for her role of ‘Kali’ in Netflix hit Stranger Things. Linnea was first introduced as ‘Kali’ in season two where she was revealed to be the sister of ‘Eleven/Jane’ played by Millie Bobby Brown. Linnea’s character made a shock return to the show in its final season, playing a pivotal part in the show’s final storyline.

  Other projects include: Jen in Alex Garland’s mini-series Devs for Hulu and the BBC.

  Short film credits include: Teenland opposite Vic Carmen Sonne and directed by Marie Grahto, Natskygge, What Tyler Did and Sláinte.

Creative team

• Titas Halder

  Writer

  
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  Titas Halder

  Writer

  Titas Halder is a writer and director working across Theatre, Film and Music. He is currently Associate Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse. As a writer he trained on the Royal Court Theatre Young Writers’ Programme.

  His first two plays Run the Beast Down and Escape the Scaffold saw him nominated for Best Writer at the inaugural Stage Debut Awards and acclaimed as a rising star playwright. The same year, his play The Basement was a finalist for the Verity Bargate Award.

  His next play Replica premiered at the National Theatre as part of NT Connections, and was also produced at Riksteatern’s Länk Festival in Stockholm. His latest play Foal premiered at the Finborough Theatre in London in 2026. He was selected for BBC Voices 2024 and is currently writing his first feature film for Storyteller.

• Matthew Xia

  Director

  
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  Matthew Xia

  Director

  Matthew Xia is a multiple award-winning theatre director, cultural leader, and multi-disciplinary artist whose work moves fluidly between stages, streets, and communities. Matthew began his career at Stratford East as a young actor and DJ under the name Excalibah; this unorthodox path through performance, music, and a love of audiences continues to inform his distinctive approach to making work.

  Matthew Xia is the Artistic Director of ATC (Actors Touring Company). He was previously Associate Artistic Director at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, where he established OPEN EXCHANGE, an artist development scheme for more than 400 next generation theatre-makers; Director-in-Residence at Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse; and Associate Director at Theatre Royal Stratford East. He was also Associate Artist at Nottingham Playhouse alongside James Graham and Amanda Whittington.

  Across his career, Matthew has directed some of the UK’s most talented actors, including Daniel Kaluuya, Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Quinn, Erin Doherty, Malachi Kirby, Maxine Peake, David Haig, Samuel Barnett, Matt Henry, Karl Collins, Martina Laird, Christopher Colquhoun, and David Moorst.

  His directing credits include: Tender (Soho Theatre); Small Island (Leeds Playhouse / Birmingham REP / Nottingham Playhouse / ATC); The Harder They Come (Stratford East); Bodies of Water (ATC / GDIF); Skeleton Crew (Donmar Warehouse); The Architect (GDIF / ATC / Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation); Tambo & Bones (ATC / Theatre Royal Stratford East); the Olivier Award-winning Hey Duggee – The Live Theatre Show (Kenny Wax Family Entertainment / Cuffe & Taylor); the Fringe First Award-winning Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen (Francesca Moody Productions / Bush Theatre); Rice (ATC / Orange Tree); The Wiz (Ameena Hamid Productions / Hope Mill / BBC Big Night of Musicals); Family Tree (GDIF / ATC / Belgrade / Brixton House); 846Live (Stratford East / GDIF); Amsterdam (ATC / Orange Tree / Theatre Royal Plymouth); Blood Knot (Orange Tree); Eden (Hampstead Theatre); One Night In Miami… (Nottingham Playhouse / Bristol Old Vic / HOME); Into The Woods and Frankenstein (Royal Exchange); Wish List (Royal Exchange / Royal Court); Shebeen (Nottingham Playhouse / Stratford East); Sleeping Beauty and The Blacks (Stratford East); Dublin Carol (Sherman Theatre); Blue/Orange and The Sound of Yellow (Young Vic); Sizwe Banzi is Dead (Young Vic / Eclipse); I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (co-director, Stratford East / Barbican); and Suckerpunch Boom Suite (Barbican / NitroBEAT).

  As both director and dramaturg, Matthew has worked with an array of renowned writers including Suzan-Lori Parks, Dominique Morisseau, Arinze Kene, April De Angelis, Joe Penhall, Vikki Stone, Katherine Soper, David Levi-Addai, Yasmin Joseph, Mojisola Adebayo, and Nessah Muthy. He has also been a respected panelist for the Evening Standard Future Fund, the Yale Drama Series, the Alfred Fagon Award, BEAM, the Bruntwood Prize, and, most recently, the Eurovision Song Contest.

  Beyond directing, Matthew’s practice spans music, sound, and live event culture. His work as a DJ, composer and sound designer includes presenting an award-winning hip-hop show on BBC 1Xtra; DJing for the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony; and creating work for productions including The People Are Singing (Royal Exchange), Free Run (Underbelly), That’s The Way To Do It (TimeWon’tWait), Pass The Baton and Bolero Remixed (New London Orchestra), and Da Boyz, Family Man, The Snow Queen, Hansel & Gretel, Medea, and Squid (Stratford East).

  Matthew was a founding member of Act for Change. In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Arts London in recognition of his work to make theatre more accessible and to champion minority groups as leaders, makers, and audiences within the industry.

• Simon Kenny

  Designer

  
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  Simon Kenny

  Designer

• Rajiv Pattani

  Lighting Designer

  
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  Rajiv Pattani

  Lighting Designer

  Rajiv graduated from LAMDA in 2014 with qualifications in Stage Management and Technical Theatre, specialising in Lighting, Sound and AV. Recent design work for the Bush includes the reopening event Black Lives, Black Words, Edinburgh Fringe First winner 2017 NASSIM  (Traverse 2 / Bush Theatre / International Tour), Ramona Tells Jim directed by Mel Hillyard and Hijabi Monologues London.

  Other lighting design credits include: Network Theatre’s STUD (Vault Festival 2018); Screaming Secrets & Glass Roots (Tristan Bates Theatre); Tom Stoppard’s On the Razzle and Nina Raine’s Rabbit (Pleasance Theatre for LAMDA productions); Blood Wedding (Bread & Roses Theatre); Might Never Happen (Doll’s Eye Theatre Company); Primadonna (VAULT Festival 2016); as well as various projects at the Arcola, Hampstead and the Unicorn. Rajiv was also Production Electrician on 4 Minutes 12 Seconds at Trafalgar Studios.

• Beth Duke

  Sound Designer

  
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  Beth Duke

  Sound Designer

• Niraj Chag

  Composer

  
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  Niraj Chag

  Composer

  Niraj Chag is a London-based composer and artist whose work spans a wide range from albums, to TV & film scores, theatre and live events.

  Niraj’s television and film soundtracks have reached a worldwide audience. These include One Night in Bhopal (BBC1), Bafta & Emmy winning Simon Schama’s The Power of Art (BBC Worldwide), The Age of Terror (BBC2), Andrew Marr’s Darwin’s Dangerous Idea (BBC2), Sex and the City (HBO), Origins of Us (BBC2), The Rise of the Continents (Discovery Channel), All in Good Time (Studio Canal), Our Girl (BBC1).

  By contrast, Niraj’s album work allows him to explore and bring to life his own narrative. Albums include the critically acclaimed ‘Along The Dusty Road’, ‘The Lost Souls’ and ‘Mud Doll’.

  Other work includes the score for the official Olympic Torch event on London’s South Bank (SBC). Musical Wah! Wah! Girls (Sadler’s Wells), The Olivier Award winning Rafta Rafta (National Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), Dara (National Theatre), Captive Queen (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Ramayana (Radio 4). In addition, Niraj has scored over 20 dance productions including Shobana Jeyasinghs Classic Cuts (Royal Opera House).

• Anjali Mehra

  Movement Director

  
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  Anjali Mehra

  Movement Director

• Shaheen Baig

  Casting Director

  
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  Shaheen Baig

  Casting Director

• Sara Aniqah Malik

  Associate Director

  
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  Sara Aniqah Malik

  Associate Director

• Actors Touring Company

  Co-Producer

  
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  Actors Touring Company

  Co-Producer

  Actors Touring Company (ATC) is a portable portal to the world. Through their work, they connect global artistic voices to local communities across the UK and beyond.

  ATC is the UK’s leading theatre producer of international plays. They source, commission and produce work from around the world and from the global cultures that exist within the UK. They create dialogue between here and the rest of the world, amplifying voices that have often been overlooked in British theatre.

  They explore global systems experienced at a human level: who gets to speak, who is seen, and who is centred. They are passionate about giving voice to the ‘outsider within’, turning barriers into bridges, and taking storytelling and theatre everywhere, for everyone.