Following its award-winning sold-out debut at Edinburgh Fringe, The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return embarks on a thrilling UK tour. Set against the backdrop of a post 2008 financial crash, where Luton is gutted by austerity, this compelling production from Chalk Line Theatre tells the story of two best friends holding tight to joy in a world that is built to suffocate them.
Winner of Best New Writing (Besties Awards – Fest & Skinny Magazine 2024), Best Individual Performance (Olatunji Ayofe, Theatre Weekly) and a finalist for The List Awards 2024, this powerful production is a lyrical tapestry of violence, defiance, and hope. Think Steven Berkoff’s East crossed with a grimy, anti-lyrical Under Milkwood –Lyn Gardner, The Stage.
Set over one chaotic night in austerity-hit Luton, the play follows two best friends as they chase the highs of youth against a backdrop of systemic neglect. What starts as a blur of noughties bangers and corner-shop gin spirals into something darker – a raw, real-time collision of friendship, violence, and survival. Told with biting wit and lyrical intensity, this production is a powerful exploration of class, identity and the rage of a generation forced to fight for freedom, while also capturing the universal and relatable experience of transition and uncertainty that accompanies major life changes.
Known for their sharp, political storytelling, Chalk Line delivers a production that is both urgent and poetic.Packed with swagger, The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Returnaims to explore the beauty of youth against the harshness of the environment. It hurls at a rapid pace with linguistic vigour and unfolds in real time, all set to a backdrop of nostalgic hits. With violence on the streets, austerity in the neighbourhood, and a cracking house party that pulses round the corner, this show presents a tapestry of restlessness.
Writer Sam Edmunds grew up in Luton and draws on his personal experiences as well as extensive conversations with young people and those who have been directly affected by the threat or consequences of knife violence. It explores how easily vulnerable young people, from working class towns, can be drawn into violence and how anger, if left misdirected and uncontrolled, can lead to catastrophic events. It shines a light on the challenging circumstances that can so often stem from growing up in low socio-economic areas that have been neglected.
The production is directed by multi award-winning director, writer, and producer Sam Edumunds (Blanket Ban, Southwark Playhouse Borough, 2023/Spazju Kreattiv; Con-Version, VAULT Festival), he is the Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Chalk Line Theatre and previously served as Resident Assistant Director at The Hampstead Theatre. He is joined by co-director Vikesh Godhwani (Blanket Ban, Southwark Playhouse Borough, 2023; The Nobodies, The Pleasance/National Tour), the other half of Chalk Line Theatre, who co-directs, and is an international multi-award-winning director. Alongside them is Movement Director and Intimacy Coordinator Jess Tucker Boyd (Bacon, Finborough Theatre; Katzenmusik, Royal Court Theatre), designer Rob Miles (Sisyphean Quick Fix, Riverside Studios; The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Arcola Theatre) and compositions from Matteo Depares (Blanket Ban, Southwark Playhouse Borough, 2023/Spazju Kreattiv; Con-Version, VAULT Festival).
Writer Sam Edmunds comments, I wanted to write a play to deal with the enormity and epic-ness of what it means to grow up in an impoverished community surrounded by violence. This play is ultimately a reflection of my upbringing in Luton, but also about the town’s history and people. It wants to celebrate them as well as highlight the realities they live in. I was inspired to write a story which speaks to the restlessness of the working classes who are constantly repressed by our government, how easily young people can be pulled into violence and how we become a product of an environment built to suffocate us. The play tells us that things need to change, and I desperately want them to. Taking this play around the UK following its award-winning sold out run at Edinburgh 2024, is incredibly important as it raises the profile of a national epidemic affecting young people today and also platforms work led by working-class creatives on a national scale.
Alongside the show Chalk Line will deliver a national impact programme on knife crime intervention, supported by the Ben Kinsella Trust, reaching thousands of young people across the UK.
Main Image: Courtesy of Chalk Line
This post was last modified on May 23, 2025 8:03 pm