Chalk Jungle

Chalk Jungle

A Youth Theatre Production

Directed by Pauline Armour, Jessica Ann Jenner and Robert O’Neill

Chalk Jungle is a powerful new play written especially for our award-winning youth theatre.

At the heart of a refugee camp, a well-meaning volunteer arrives to run a drama workshop based on Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle. But as the young refugees begin to perform, the story of Grusha — a woman fleeing war who rescues an abandoned child — starts to mirror their own experiences of flight, fear, and resilience.

Objects become symbols, tarpaulins become mountains, and the world of the camp transforms into a stage where truth and theatre collide. Drawing on real refugee testimonies and modern parallels to Brecht’s epic tale, Chalk Jungle explores what it means to belong, who gets to tell their story, and whether justice can ever be found.

Visceral, immersive and beautifully performed by a talented young ensemble, this compelling piece of new writing blurs the boundaries between art and activism — reminding us that theatre can challenge, transform, and give voice to those too often unheard.

Chalk Jungle is BLT’s youth entry into the Kent Drama Association Festival and will be adjudicated on Sunday 22nd March.