We sat down for an exclusive interview with Aldous Ciokajlo-Squire, writer and performer of ‘6:24’, a raw portrayal of the euphoric experiences we have at raves.
‘6:24’ returns to The Sainsbury Theatre and MishMash Festival on Sunday 19th April- Tickets here
What drew you to capturing rave culture on stage, and what truth about it felt most urgent to tell?
Your emotions can feel like they’re bouncing off the walls at a rave. They feel impulsive and deep. I was once told that London accentuates whatever you’re feeling. If you’re feeling great then everything is great, if you’re feeling low, then it can all feel overwhelming. I think raves can often make you feel that same thing. You can literally be falling in love with someone whilst your heart is beaming in the crowd full of people dancing, or you can feel incredibly alone, surrounded by strangers. I really wanted to capture this feeling on stage and felt like it lent itself hand in hand with rave culture.
We’re in a time where the world is in a tense place. This play is not to distract people from what is going on, but to hopefully make people realise how delicate those around you can be.
How did working from “true events” shape the emotional honesty and boundaries of 6:24?
When I was younger, raves were the destination to go to. I’d go with what felt like everyone I knew in north London, rock up with a fiver for entry, dance all night with people I love and I’d feel for a split second time stood still. They were freeing, risky and full of life, so when I was writing this play, I wanted to capture the honest emotions those spaces offer. Everything that happens in the play is based on a true experience that I’ve either encountered, or witnessed, which has helped ground the world and characters in it.
The play centres on euphoria—what interested you in exploring what lies just beneath that high?
Raves have always had a funny way of bringing my emotions to the surface and making the outside world feel quiet for a brief moment. Euphoria is such a visceral feeling, an out of body experience where you get to just experience life in it’s fullest, making me feel incredibly present. I didn’t know how prominent this feeling would be when I was writing 6:24, but as I explored it further, I discovered so much more depth in all the characters. We all experience it in different ways, in different places, and for me, this is it.
How do movement and physicality help express what words can’t in the world of 6:24?
I feel like we often don’t say what we really want to in life. We hold back and have a fear of not being understood. I’ve seen it happen countless times, where someone finally plucks up the courage, using the energy of the night out to say what they’ve buried deep inside themselves. Just like in musicals, where they sing when words are no longer enough, the movement in this play challenges the trio to do exactly that, channel their emotions through their body.
What does 6:24 suggest about friendship at that fragile point between youth and adulthood?
The play is told through the lens of Felix, who has a desire to relive his most exciting days, his youth. He fears the reality of his twenties passing him by as someone who’s been forgotten about and when he reconnects with Lilly & Stephano, his whole world speeds up again, yet he’s still trying to obtain the same feeling he felt all those years ago.
When we’re young, the world feels massive, full of possibilities and as you get older, it becomes more streamlined. There’s people who were in my life growing up that I thought would always be there, but as time has passed, life has pulled us in different directions. The trio still has their deep rooted connections to each other, but the responsibility of growing up has clouded their youth. Something that they’re all trying to find again.
Returning to the piece after MishMash 2024, how has your perspective on the story evolved?
It’s very surreal to me how much this play has grown over the past couple of years. It started as a 10 minute piece in 2022, then a 40 minute piece in 2024 and now it’s the 3rd edition and the longest version it’s been. We’ve been able to explore all of the characters’ backstories further, and because of that, I feel like my whole perspective has shifted and the purpose of what we’re saying is clearer.
It’s vibrant and full of joy, but also goes through deep sadness at points. It should take you on a journey where you want to dance with us right there on stage and then the next moment curl up in your seat. It’s unapologetic, reckless and full of heart, all of which were in the core story in previous editions, but the heart has grown in so many ways.