the chaos that has been and will no doubt return
by sam edmunds
Summerhall Edinburgh 2024
Southwark Playhouse 2025
National Tour 2025
★★★★★ " A masterclass in storytelling" Theatre Weekly
★★★★★"Unfolds like an urban epic: its small cast of characters freewheeling through streets and council estates, the fizzing freedom of youth caught against the suffocating constraints of British austerity...it all feels irresistible" Fest Magazine
★★★★ "Playwright Sam Edmunds gives us a teens’-eye view of the town in the 00s with this arresting account of a house party...an eloquent assessment of how fear can result in fury" The Guardian
★★★★"Think Steven Berkoff’s East crossed with a grimy, anti-lyrical Under Milkwood and you have something of the flavour of this odyssey into the underbelly of Luton. Writer Sam Edmunds sees the life burning furiously inside of them." Lyn Gardner, The Stage
★★★★ "Edmunds paints a vivid picture of the limiting factors on the lives of working-class men, the grinding sense of debt that is passed down from generation to generation, the violence they encounter and have to live with on the street..it's exhilarating" What's On Stage
★★★★★ Ed Fringe Review
★★★★★ Binge Fringe
★★★★★ Corr Blimey
★★★★★ UK Theatre Web
★★★★★ The Real Chris Sparkle
★★★★★ North West End
★★★★★ Spy In The Stalls
★★★★★ Ovation News
★★★★★ Adventures In Theatreland
★★★★★ A Theatre Loving Londoner
★★★★★ Rachel Reviews
★★★★.5 Rated Review
★★★★ Three Weeks
★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★ British Theatre Guide
★★★★ A Young(ish) Perspective
★★★★ West End Best Friend
★★★★ Culture Fix
★★★★ Mervyn Stutter
★★★★ Creative Review
★★★★ Musical Theatre Musings
★★★★ First Night Magazine
★★★★ London Theatre 1
★★★★ Theatre and Tonic
★★★★ Desk Bound Dramatic
★★★★ Beyond The Curtain
★★★★ Reviewsgate
★★★★ Broadway World
★★★★ Unmissable Theatre
★★★★ Alex Roy Theatre
TOP 1% BBC OPEN SUBMISSIONS
WINNER OF BEST NEW WRITING - BESTIES AWARDS - FEST & SKINNY MAGAZINE
WINNER OF BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE - OLATUNJI AYOFE - THEATRE WEEKLY
FINALIST FOR THE SIT UP AWARDS WITH THE LIST
GRANT WINNER FOR THE SIT UP AWARDS
FINALIST FOR BEST NEW WRITING STAGEY PLACE AWARDS (PENDING)
NOMINATED BEST DESIGN AND BEST SOUND FRINGE THEATRE AWARDS
NOMINATED OFF-WEST COMMENDATION
Cast (London/Tour):
Elan Butler
Nathaniel Christian
Leanne Henlon
Cast (Edinburgh):
Olatunji Ayofe
Amaia Naima Aguinaga
Elan Butler
Creative Team:
Written By - Sam Edmunds
Directed By - Sam Edmunds & Vikesh Godhwani
Designed by - Rob Miles
Produced by - Chalk Line Theatre
Sound Design by - Matteo Depares
Lighting Design by - Sam Edmunds
Movement Direction by - Jess Tucker Boyd
Technical Stage Manager - Eliott Sheppard



