Chalk Line Theatre’s dynamic, youthful new production is a slice of life celebration of growing up in Luton.
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.
What unfolds is a working-class odyssey that successfully balances the joys and challenges of coming-of-age following years of austerity. On a number of occasions, our heroes are forced to face difficult choices, confront barriers and comfort and cajole each other through life’s ups and downs. Although much of this unfolds in real time, events are punctuated by tangents and exposition that broaden the expanse of the universe they create. In doing so, 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.
This is theatre with social issues at heart, using a number of theatrical conventions such as thumping music, tableaux and direct address which are common to this style and popular with young audiences. Each device is used effectively to maintain pace throughout and ensure the story is told with genuine affection for its subject without preaching a message.
With a slew of awards and plaudits behind them, as well as a growing legion of fans (as was apparent by the immediate whooping and cheering at the start of the show), Chalk Line is destined for theatrical greatness.