Awards

• Winner of Best New Writing - Fest & Skinny Mag 2024

Overview

“If this town gave out a collective breath of exhaustion, buildings would shake across the whole of England.” Two best mates. One final party. A moment that will change everything. An evening of noughties bangers and shots of shitty gin mixed with the chaos of violence. A night to remember! Set in austerity-stricken Luton over one chaotic night, the play follows two best friends (Voice and Lewis) as they chase the highs of youth against a backdrop of systemic neglect. Painting a tapestry of violence and joy, it is a raw, real-time collision of friendship and survival. Told with biting wit and lyrical intensity, this production is a powerful exploration of class and identity, with a cracking house party that pulses round the corner. A gripping new play that captures the raw, heart-pounding moment when everything changes—and childhood slips away.

Full Product Details

9781915533364

Table of Contents

Reviews

★★★★★ "" 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 ★★★★★ Bristol 24/7 ★★★★ Three Weeks ★★★★ The Scotsman ★★★★ British Theatre Guide ★★★★ A Young(ish) Perspective ★★★★ West End Best Friend ★★★★ Culture Fix ★★★★ Mervyn Stutter 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

Author Information

Sam is a multi-award winning director, writer, and producer. He is the Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Chalk Line Theatre company, who he has toured work with nationally and internationally. Sam has won the Best New Writing Award at the New Besties 2024, Untapped Award 2022, London Pub Theatres Standing Ovation Award 2021, Best International Achievement Award Arts Council Malta 2021 and the COMMON Award 2020. Sam's work has also been shortlisted for the BBC Popcorn Playwriting Award and received multiple OFFIE nominations. Directing credits include: Blanket Ban (Spazju Kreattiv 2025, Southwark Playhouse 2023, Underbelly Edinburgh 2022, New Diorama 2022); Forgiveness (White Bear Theatre 2023); Radiant Boy Rehearsed Reading (Hampstead Downstairs 2023); Take Me To Church Rehearsed Reading (Hampstead Downstairs 2023); Con-Version (Vaults Festival 2023); Don't Shoot The Albatross (ZOO Venues Edinburgh 2022); The Nobodies (Spazju Kreattiv Malta, Pleasance Theatre, 2x National Tours 2021, Vault Festival 2020); Lost For Words (Imagine Luton Outdoor Festival) among others. Writing credits include: The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return (Summerhall 2024); Testament (Hope Theatre 2019, Incoming Festival 2019, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018). Assisting credits include: The Art of Illusion directed by Tom Jackson Greaves (Hampstead Theatre 2022); Ravenscourt directed by Tessa Walker (Hampstead Theatre 2022); Much Ado About Nothing directed by Natasha Rickman (RADA 2021); Plaques & Tangles directed by Sarah Bedi (RADA 2021). Producing credits include: Why A Black Woman Will Never Be Prime Minister by Zakiyyah Deen (Camden People's Theatre 2024); Under The Black Rock by Tim Edge (Arcola Studio 1 2023), Alice In Wonderland by Sixteenfeet Productions (Kew Gardens 2023); Poison, Hate & Vitriol by Amy Guyler (Vault Festival 2023); I Lost My Virginity To Chopin’s Nocturne in B-Flat Minor By Sebastian Gardner (UK Tour 2021, Vaults 2021) among others. Directing in drama schools: The Angry Brigade & Albion (East 15 Acting School 2024); Macbeth & A Monster Calls (London College of Music 2024). Sam was also a previous Resident Assistant Director at Hampstead Theatre and RADA and has been a workshop facilitator for The Young Vic, NT Connections, artsdepot, Theatre Peckham, NGYT, COMMON and The Pleasance Futures Trust.

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