REVIEW: Endgame by Samuel Beckett, Flabbergast Theatre, Edfringe 2026 ★★★★

Samuel Beckett is a tyrant. His precision is imposed onto any production of his plays. Therefore, if you are curious to see a Beckett bursting at the very seams of what his estate would accept, it is worth seeing Flabbergast Theatre’s Endgame. The best moments of this stylish, physical production of Beckett’s ‘bleakest play’ are those that genuinely innovate the strange and desperately sad relationships the text offers us.

The brutal fact is, every time I’ve watched Endgame, I’ve found it boring. Sometimes excruciatingly boring. I can barely find its rhythm. I think it holds its audience in active contempt. Do I think a contemporary theatre company can do much new with it? No. However, Beckett wrote this strange tract about someone who dominates speech being driven to silence — and there have been many people, some good, some not, driven to silence since. There needn’t be more reason for Flabbergast to tackle the play than this.

Flabbergast lean into this idea through Henry Manyard’s performance which makes Hamm a powerful rhetorical speaker. He bellows like a preacher, wails in pain, monologues because he knows everyone present must listen. It is a vocal tour-de-force, and a welcome change from the sly sort of Hamms I’ve come to associate with the role. Simon Cleave is a solid foil and his Clov embodies a clown that, whilst restricted by Beckett’s obscenely precise stage directions, does find moments of originality.

What I found strongest in this production, was Annabel Arden and Derek Elwood’s Nell and Nagg. They were genuinely revelatory. This version of Endgame brought through the importance, bitterness and tragedy of Hamm’s upbringing, and his parents’ fate. Both Arden and Elwood present tragedy in their own way, with Arden bringing pathos to the oft-quoted “nothing is funnier than unhappiness” and Elwood portraying Nagg’s grief over the death of his wife in a seriously moving manner.

Maynard is astute to observe that you can trace elements of Bouffon in all four characters. So, Hamm can bellow, Nell can weep, Nagg can scream in grief. This is a nimble Endgame which rises into crescendos. The effect is that the evening has peaks and troughs, but, if you can accept them, you will be rewarded. 

Whilst it’s not your usual 50-minuter Fringe show, it is an excellent production of a masterpiece. Besides, how often can we see a Beckett so nicely interpreted by actors at the top of their game in Scotland? This is an accomplished production with performances to match, and if Beckett’s your thing, it’s worth it. 

Recommended Drink: Something caffeinated.             

You can catch Endgame by Samuel Beckett at Pleasance at EICC (Lomond Theatre) from 18.30 (1hr 30mins) on August 8-30 (Not 12, 24). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.