The Chaos That Has Been

“The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return”, written by Sam Edmunds and co-directed with Vikesh Godhwani, is a powerful urban epic that captures the wild, untamed spirit of youth against the backdrop of British austerity.

Chalk Line Theatre’s dynamic, youthful new production at Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio is a slice of life celebration and growing up in Luton.

From the first moments, the audience is plunged into the vibrant world of Luton's youth. The characters, portrayed by Olatunji Ayofe, Amaia Naima, and Elan Butler, are bold, likable, and instantly engaging.

The narrative unfolds over one night, freewheeling through the streets and council estates, capturing the intoxicating freedom of being young while also confronting the suffocating realities of their environment.

This coming-of-age tale tackles themes such as underage drinking, first crushes, parties, and the weight of big life decisions such as going to university or cutting ties with family. Larger than life characters, multi-roled by the talented cast of three, set the backdrop for a teenage party for which two best friends are preparing - and are unlikely to ever forget.

Our narrator, played by Olatunji Ayofe, guides us through a culturally multi diverse Luton, dodging lectures from his dad about getting a job at the garage and taunts from his best mate Lewis (Butler) about admitting to liking Lakesha (Aguinaga), the coolest girl in school. As the cast multirole their way through numerous different members of the community, we are met by various tragedies, slowly revealing the violence that underpins a struggling community.

Our main narrator played by Ayofe lives with his single mum, a nurse who works nights, and he has ambitions to go to university and give her a better life. There is no future in Luton. The odds are stacked against these people but it is clear the playwright loves his subjects and imbues the play with a heartfelt hope.

What unfolds is a working-class odyssey that successfully balances the joys and challenges of coming-of-age following years of austerity. Pacing is expertly done, seamlessly moving from comedy to tension and back again. As a piece of comedy, it is funny. As an experience of romance and coming-of-age, it delivers.

Danger lurks, of course. In an environment where the EDL are beginning to organise and many fancy themselves as gangsters, the local family of young hardmen are a hazard to be negotiated, one which brings our hero to an inevitable crossroads when a knife is brandished at the party.

The characters are forced to face difficult choices, confront barriers and comfort and cajole each other through life’s ups and downs. Sam Edwards’s effervescent script successfully captures the lived experience of young people in Britain today, while finding poetry in deprivation and the urban sprawl.

It’s a simple set design from Rob Miles, a few boxes that shift from the night-club environment to street corners and make effective and clever transformations without distracting or overly distracting. A larger box that has doors and cupboards from which things appear; constantly moving these elements adds to the energy of the piece and the cast are forever popping up and over the levels.

Sound design by Matteo Depares and a selection of catchy musical songs drive the story along, igniting passion and ultimately delivering an uplifting message. Sam Edmund’s lighting design is extraordinary in moments - turning facial expressions into nightmarish demonstrations of aggression or highlighting genuine anguish.

A gripping play that captures the raw, heart-pounding moment when everything changes – and childhood slips away. Hard, complicated questions at its core, but more than that it’s simply a joy to watch, with funny, fast-talking characters sprinting through the night with wonderful abandon. Looking back, in the thoughtful mood it left me, it is odd to remember how many, many laughs there were in it.