EDINBURGH 2026: Review: AS FAR AS WE KNOW, Summerhall
Sam Ward has created a Kafka-esque world where a woman is looking for an answer
“Stop talking about the f-ing crabs!”
You know you’re in for a good story when you go and see a YESYESNONO production, but As Far As We Know is particularly special.
Writer and performer Sam Ward has created a Kafka-esque world where a woman is looking for an answer. He caveats that it’s ok if you lose your place during the performance, I certainly did at times, but the rhythm and pace carries you back up to speed pretty quickly.
The stage is only set with a desk, that has a lamp on it and LED strip lights round the edge, a chair and what turns out to be a huge screen behind it. PSA: for the love of God don’t step inside the white line onto the stage when you’re entering the Main Hall or the usher will have you.
Ward sits down with a wad of paper in a brown folder and starts telling his twisty-turny, lightning-fast tale. On the surface the setting could be our own reality, but what’s brilliantly unsettling is that things are just not quite right and then rather spiral out of control.
He motors through, building the tension to near unbearable levels. At one point I realised that I had been holding my breath for a whole chase scene. But it’s also funny, with some cracking lines popping up in the middle of intense moments.
The piece is split into three parts. I don’t want to ruin any of them, because not knowing what’s going to happen next helps keep you on your toes, and As Far As We Know is best enjoyed at the very edge of your seat. But Part Two was so sinister and unnerving that it gave me literal goosebumps.
Huge recognition also has to go to the sound and lighting designers who help catapult the audience into the hallucinogenic landscape. Carmel Smickersgill’s surreal soundscape ebbs in the background or crescendos with agonising effect. And Han Sayles' single yellow bulb makes things feel intimate even though you're in a room with 100 other people.
I was already recommending As Far As We Know to people before I’d even left Summerhall. In fact I loved it so much, I bought a copy of the script that was being sold afterwards, and I’m hoping it goes on tour so I can see it again to pick up some of the gems I missed.
As Far As We Know runs in the Main Hall at Summerhall until 31 August (not 25 August)
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