Review: CHAOS: III, The Pleasance Theatre

There aren’t many times in your life where you can safely say you’ve watched a lip-sync routine to a song about being on Jobseeker’s Allowance, all the while having just watched a clown piece seemingly about how Year 7’s always have backpacks larger than them. However, Long Night Production’s Chaos III brought audiences of The Pleasance Theatre exactly that last night, in a two-and-a-half-hour piece showcasing some new emerging talent, and a whole load of unexpected twists and turns.

Nine stories woven together, almost seamlessly, ensured that despite the piece change, audience members could still follow each one easily. No two plays were the same: in fact, it would probably have been harder to list ways they were similar than ways they weren’t. All of the writers of the pieces clearly put their efforts into them, making each resonate for its own reasons. However, there were a couple I could not shake off after leaving last night.

Firstly, we have Jobseeker, created and performed by Joshua Haigh and directed by Ben Johnson. In a style similar to a drag lip-sync, Haigh brings the audience into fits of laughter, finger-snaps, and screams as he performs his own take of Sleaford Mods’s ‘Jobseeker’. With costume removals, a water-dance with a can of Stella, and moves to leave grasping for your pearls, Jobseeker is one of my stand-out picks of the entire show, and my only criticism is that it wasn’t longer.

Next, we have Leech, performed and written by Lucy Ellis and her morph suit… Directed by Steve Medlin, the piece is set up as a leech (yes, an actual leech) giving her first-ever stand-up performance. The play covers what it is like for a performer to have both an ego and insane insecurity - all while being two-and-a-half years sober from drinking blood. I honestly cannot say I have seen anything like this before, and the wonder that is Ellis’s brain to have come up with it is truly something else. Quite literally, the piece audiences laugh at the most - in the best way possible!

Arsehole is written and performed by Louis Catliff, with direction from Nash Metaxas. The satirical piece tells of a personified toilet, played by Catliff, and how he once found love in a Chelsea manor, before being the cause of a murder and dumped in a bathroom shop in Slough. The first round of applause of the night was given to Arsehole after Catliff’s almost ten-minute monologue. The writing of this piece is comedic genius, and will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about your bathroom appliance… 

Lastly, and by no means least, in my highlights is 10 Things to Tell Yourself in the Line to the Gay Club, written and performed by Barney Doran and Anna Fenton-Garvey with direction from Issey Vogel. The piece dives into the conflicting thoughts that non-binary individuals have as they find their space in the Queer community. When two strangers meet in the queue for The Peak (the hottest gay club), they have to work together to abide by the strict rules for entry. Or, perhaps, find power in owning who they are and defining the rules. Doran and Fenton-Garvey are marvels in their piece, and really had audiences hooked. From queer community ‘in-jokes’, to writing that causes audiences to roar with laughter and agreement, 10 Things… truly stood out for all the right reasons - a full play is needed from these two.

Overall, all nine plays were incredible in their own way, which made picking the entries for this highlights list very difficult. All of the performers hold their own, and no one goes unnoticed. A wonderful production showcasing emerging theatre - the true backbone of our community. 

Chaos: III played at the Pleasance Theatre 27-28 March

 Photo credits: Coleman Bohn