Butterfly Effect addresses the perpetual question common to all who have ever doubted, regretted, or speculated: “What if?”. Drawn from chaos theory, Butterfly Effect explores the phenomenon that it names: the exploration of cause and effect arising from every minute decision and every negligible action we perform without considering the alternatives, which combine to produce a catastrophic ‘trigger event’ – the fallout from which, itself, spirals off to create an additional ‘butterfly effect’. As in life, in the play, the cycle continues.

Presented by Twisted Willow Theatre, and collaboratively scripted by 10 WRiTEON community writers based in Cambridge, this show at the Corpus Playroom delivered intense emotion and a script laced with finesse, but occasionally lacked conviction. Nonetheless, the raw power of the cast and the scope of the production were awe-inspiring, and I found myself nursing a little tear towards the end.

The standout performance of the night was, without a doubt, from Amber-Page Moss as Melissa. Both an excellently written and outstandingly delivered monologue about a sexual encounter with the 16 year-old’s stepdad was at once tragic, comic and horrifying. Tasmin Baty’s Clare was the perfect complement to Moss; her character was slightly clumsy, somehow crude but innately loveable and excellently delivered. As the play progressed, and tragic events unfolded, Melissa became someone who was both increasingly fearsome, but also heart-wrenchingly pitiful.

Suzanne Emerson’s wounded Imogen was touching, stoic and empathetic; Declan Lynch’s Jack succeeded in delivering an almost comically inadequate, yet still crucially sympathetic, drunken father. Max Digby-Carpenter’s Ben delivered several excellent, raw scenes of emotion, but occasionally lacked impact, and while Saskia Van Ryneveld captured the tight, hollow anger of depression as wife Beth, she sometimes stepped into the realms of overemphasis. Her perceived rage about a life that had neglected her was performed with such wild aggression that I was occasionally left lacking sympathy for a character whose ultimate, tragic fate was clearly intended to rouse such emotions. 

Equally, Carpenter and Ryneveld's portrayal of teenagers in the opening scene was unconvincing. The script for this scene felt forced with clichés that didn’t resonate with the erratic dialogue of teenagers and seemed antithetical to the convincing chatter scripted between Clare and Melissa.

The props and set were creatively designed, used and reworked. However, clumsy transitions between scenes, and the discordant, inappropriately upbeat music that played as these took place, invariably drew the audience out of the moment, and detracted from the gravitas that had often been created.

Despite these drawbacks, I walked away from Butterfly Effect thinking about the fragility of certainty, the immensity of possibilities, and the synergistic web of interactions that accompany every human life and decision. The play felt epic in proportion, deceptively cloaked under the guise of the mundane, and the skilful acting served to complement a very well-written story. In particular, the final twist must be praised for its ingenuity.

It was refreshing to watch a cast of a diverse range of ages and backgrounds perform in the familiar setting of the Corpus Playroom. The show’s two-week run provides an ideal opportunity to experience thought-provoking theatre. In short, Butterfly Effect is highly recommended.