Probably Samuel Beckett’s second most famous work after Waiting For Godot, Endgame is, perhaps not coincidentally, a much bleaker play than the one famously known as the play in which nothing happens (and twice).
The play’s mix of the absurd and the nihilistic are not for everyone. This material is not relatable or made of easily defined punchlines, and anyone coming in purely off the name of a famous comedy writer or the MCU team-up could be in for a shock.
Set in a houser in a post-apocalyptic landscape, the play follows Hamm (director Henry Maynard), his servant Clov (Simon Gleave) and Hamm’s two dustbin-bound parents, Nagg (Derek Elwood) and Nell (Annabel Arden).
Maynard brings a Shakespearan gravitas to the seat-bound and petty Hamm, while Elwood and Arden in their bins are the epitome of end-of-life helplessness. As the only performer who can move around, Gleave as Clov must do much of the physical comedy which Flabbergast Theatre specialises in. While it is mostly effective, at some points, including when Clov and Hamm sync up, it seems to take away from the words rather than add to them. Nevertheless, this is a fine version of the Beckett classic which, while it may not convert the agnostic, any Beckett fan can find new pleasure in.
Running August 5th – 30th (no show 12th & 24th) https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/endgame-by-samuel-beckett
Reviewer: Oliver Giggins
Reviewed: 16th August 2026
North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating:
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