Chalk Farm

Kieran Hurley, AJ Taudevin

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781783195206
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Théâtre britannique

Shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Emerging Talent Award 2013 at the Edinburgh Fringe. Maggie is just in from Sainsbury's Local to make a quick sandwich for Jamie. He likes his cheese and pickle. With the crusts off. A good heart, that lad. Not like those other boys around here. You know what boys are like. Laws unto themselves once they reach that age. But it's those other boys, really. Not Jamie. A boy with a Batman lunch box? What harm is he to anybody? Co-written by AJ Taudevin and Kieran Hurley, Chalk Farm explores love, responsibility, and the culture of blame and retribution surrounding the 2011 English riots.

JAMIE

I've got my headphones on and it's on shuffle and it's playing this well slow song. This slow cheesy song that my mum likes but turned up well loud. And I'm standing there, in the middle of the street. Just watching it all. Watching it all play out.

And the music is slow and everything looks slow too you know? I know it sounds fucking corny but it's true. It's real. It's like playing out like slow motion, and out the corner of my eye I can see the tube sign like a title caption at the start of a film yeah. Like the start or maybe more like at the end. Just hovering there above everything big bright white letters: Chalk Farm.

And I can see a smashed window.

And I watch kids cycling away from the bike shop on their new wheels.

And I watch more police arriving. Lines and lines of them.

And I'm thinking:

It's not about just wanting a new bike.

It's not about history like what Junior says.

It's not about all anger at politicians or bankers or any of that shit it's fuck all to do with any of them ’cause they're nowhere to be seen. They're not even fucking there.

And it's not about supermarkets on our streets and overpriced fucking ham.

And it's not about saying listen to me. It's not about saying this is what I think.

And it's not about just smashing stuff up for fun.

And it's not about school and it's not about parents and it's not about just grabbing a bottle of something quickly ’cause it'll make a nice present for your mum.

And it's not about black or white.

And it's not about the police being dickheads.

And it's not about that boy that was shot.

And it's not about revenge.

And it's not a cry for help.

And.

At the same time.

It is.

It so massively fucking is.

It's about all that stuff at once. It's about everything. Everything and nothing.

Right there. A smashed window.

Just everything, and nothing, all at once.

MAGGIE

What is it with kids and white bread? Don't matter how many times I tell him, my Jaime, that brown bread is better for you, he just won't have it. Come along Best of Both and all your dreams are answered – don't you think? One less thing to worry about anyway. Whatever it takes to give him strength. And because tomorrow's a big day I've got him his favourite. Cheese and pickle. Branston of course. And a cheeky packet of chocolate buttons ’cause he'll deserve a treat tomorrow. My little pickle. My little pickle and his Batman lunch box.

Jaime? You in?

JAMIE

The view from up here is incredible. On a still night like this when the wind's not too strong. Like you're King of the Chalcots Estate. Mum's got no idea I come up here, and I don't like to imagine the state of her face if she found out. If Junior knew he'd end up telling everyone so some things have just gotta be kept secret. Amazing where a pair of wire cutters from school will get you. Don't worry. I put ’em back. I'm not a thief or nothing.

MAGGIE

You've got to do the right thing, haven't you? Tomorrow is a big day.

JAMIE

There's all sorts of rubbish what you hear people say about this place. You hear people thinking there's like chalk or some shit in the ground but they're just stupid. It don't take a genius to figure it out and you learn it young at school if you've got half a brain. Basically, there was some rich fucker like two hundred years ago or something who owned like the whole of this area before it was called Chalk Farm. And he was called Mr Chalcots or Master or Sir or Lord or whatever the fuck you call someone who actual owns the land. Like, all of it. Not just a little bit of it. It was like a village or something and he owned it all. And that's why it's called what it is. Chalcots, chalk. Chalk, Chalcots. Yeah? And so when they built these towers they was like, let's call it the Chalcots Estate so that bloke's name can live on for like, ever. Junior says that those of us living on Chalcots are keeping the true Chalk Farm alive. Keeping it connected to its past. To its history, yeah?

That's what Junior says anyway. Though he does have a bit of a rep for talking shit.

MAGGIE

He loves it here. I remember his little face when I first got this place.

We're moving out, pickle. Moving out and moving up. I've got us a little flat just for you and me. And when you come back and visit Grandma and Grandpa Shields and they ask you where you live, you just say Chalk Farm, alright? None of this Camden nonsense, Chalk Farm. Got it?

JAMIE

Mummy? What's a chalk farm?

MAGGIE

He didn't understand. Thought we were going somewhere magical, like in a fairy story. A chalk farm. Like somewhere where crayons and bright-coloured things grow from the ground and hang from trees. Like a picture book or something. Bless him.

JAMIE

Mummy? What is a chalk farm?

MAGGIE

A chalk farm is a safe place, pickle, where I promise you and me are going to live happily ever after.

Well. You've got to have hopes though don't you? My mum always says that to me. ‘Maggie, you've got to have hopes for your kids.’ And you gotta. Don't you?

JAMIE

She's started getting well nosey always wanting to know where I'm going. She's all like

MAGGIE

I thought we were going to hang out this afternoon. Where were you?

JAMIE

Out.

MAGGIE

Where?

JAMIE

Just out.

MAGGIE

Out where, Jamie?

JAMIE

I don't know. The play park. Then the market. Burger King. Bought some DVDs.

MAGGIE

Oh yeah? And how many hours did you work this week to pay for that?

JAMIE

She must have figured it out by now that she can count on one hand the places where I'll be when I'm out. There's the market, there's Junior's house, and then sometimes there's the play park. It's not like a kids’ play park or anything like that. Well, it is, you know it has swings and everything but I've never seen any actual kids there. It's all kids our age you know, it's just where everyone goes. You can tell it's not a play park for actual kids ’cause of all the broken glass. And the swings and the slide and everything are all covered with tags, like, everyone's names.

MAGGIE

...