“16 years on this planet and it comes to this…”
Sometimes at the Edinburgh Festival amidst all the half-conceived artistic debris, the broken dreams and the ill-informed attempts at theatre, sometimes you stumble across a gem, a highly polished and presented piece which shines out, head and shoulders above the rest – such as the case in “The Chaos That Has Been And Will No Doubt Return” at Summerhall which takes as its narratological background Luton – not the most inspiring of cities in the United Kingdom, but in the hands of Chalk Line theatre company it becomes a fascinating youthful and exuberant place in a production riddled with the joyous exuberance of youth and the concomitant chaos which follows.
The play, by a gifted Sam Edmunds, has a vibrant energy that is both engaging and beguiling and takes us on a story of anguish, anxiety and youthful hopes which resonate throughout the room and far after the performance into the night.
The venue seems reminiscent of a bullring, somewhat pertinent to the life or near death tale which will unfold. The play explodes and unfolds like a brash, buoyant urban sonnet of unfilled ambition and hope underpinned by a throbbing, thumping soundtrack from the hugely talented Matteo Depares. It is an eruption of relentless, endless rhythms, rhymes and rap with Dylan Thomas-like imagery evoking a time, a place, a moment in one big sensory download. The tight, bright, richly woven choreography and direction by the writer and Vikesh Godhwani is drilled and delivered with aplomb and the piece is riven with searing, sizzling anger and frustration tempered with visceral moments of sepulchral calm, humour and reflection.
It’s a flawless, faultless evocation of youth exquisitely rendered by a triumvirate of three thrilling and engaging actors, Olatunji Ayofe, Amaia Naima Aguinaga, Elan Butler all of whom deftly sprint between characters, accents and tone deftly and adroitly holding us to their hearts throughout. Each performer with a technique and ability well beyond their years.
This is what the fringe is about. Chalk Line Theatre have offered us a comic/tragic mash-up with a living, breathing language and an intensity of commitment which stands far ahead of other offerings epitomising both the heart of the fringe and spirit of the festival.
Reviewer: Peter Kinnock
Reviewed: 17th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: