Foal
Have you ever split in two? Not because you wanted to, but rather because of a way to survive? What happens when the part of you that you have tried to bury deep resurfaces? Can you face it?
That is what is in the forefront of Foal, the newest piece of theatre by Titas Halder (Run the Beast Down, Replica, Escape the Scaffold) running at the Finborough Theatre. Directed by Annie Kershaw (The Maids, Educating Rita and Private View).
This one person show explores everything from revenge, otherness, masculinity and the journey back home. Performed by Amar Chadha-Patel (The Creator, The Decameron, Dashcam) in their theatre debut. Foal is a haunting, lyrical piece of theatre that explodes on stage.
We meet our protagonist, A.K., one of the only Indian families on the island. He is different but that's like that. Not like the other Indian boy in his class. Right? His father is calm but bubbling underneath, his mother is distant and angry. A.K. is somewhere in between. We follow him from childhood experiences of first love, bullies, experiences of racism and more. From moving away to being drawn back.
All the while, we watch this invasion happening within A.K., when he has to confront his past, his family and the source of his shame. Himself. The other version of himself. Who we watch alongside A.K. as he grows up. A beast, a baby, a fearful or fearsome thing. Halder blurs the lines, making the audience question who is the man, who is the beast? Perhaps the only beast was the system that forced A.K. to transform. There is mystery throughout and this writing needs a present audience to catch every moment and beat. The writing is precise, untamed but equally tender as we move through chapters from A.K.'s life. It is at its truest form, poetry, and at its most feral, a warning flare about how constant othering never really ends.
Watching a young person become haunted by both his past and possible future is electric to watch. We watch this person unravel with great precision by Kershaw as moments are punched up and the space is utilised. With set and costume design by Cara Evans, we have enough to show us both the sea, the island and the city that we move through across the story. Especially when we have rapid moments of the "beast", this is punched up by effective lighting (Lighting Design by Rajiv Pattani) through door frames.
A.K. along with all the characters throughout, Foal is played by Amar Chadha-Patel. This is a sensitive performance. With a dense and layered concept that exists within Foal, Chadha-Patel brings us through embarrassment that comes with a crush, rage, fear, and the suffocation of admitting weakness as a man. Chadha-Patel draws us in with prolonged and sometimes uncomfortable eye contact with the audience. Because we have to look at what has happened. To avoid this feeling happening to others. This is not an easy performance to watch, but it is a lingering and powerful one. Foal doesn't offer easy resolution. It isn't a story of glory. Instead, it offers something rarer: an honest, unsettled reckoning with the shadows we carry within our ribs.
This show was reviewed on the 9th of May 2026 at the Finborough Theatre, London where it runs until the 30th May 2026. Tickets available here : Foal | Finborough Theatre
Review written by Mary Condon O'Connor
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Photo credit: Steve Gregson
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