Olatunji Ayofe will lead the cast for the premiere of The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return. He has recently been seen on our screens as Teddy in Apple TV’s Silo as well as in The Shepherd on Disney+. On stage he has appeared at the New Wolsey, The National Theatre and the Royal Court.
To bring to life this epic working-class story about impoverished young people, he is joined by Elan Butler (Masters of the Air, Apple TV; Sex Education, Netflix; House of Sand, Bush Theatre) and Amaia Naima Aguinaga (The House Party, Chichester Festival Theatre; Dear Octopus, National Theatre).
The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return aims to explore the beauty of youth against the harshness of the environment. Packed with noughties bangers, shots of shitty gin and swagger, it unfolds in real time, sweeping us along with its rapid pace and linguistic vigour. With the chaos of violence on the streets, austerity in the neighbourhood, and a cracking house party, 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. Through this, it explores how easily they can be drawn into violence and how anger 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.
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.
This production continues Chalk Line’s remit of creating important socio-political work, following the successes of Untapped award-winning Blanket Ban, COMMON award-winning The Nobodies and Testament.
