As Far As We Know at Summerhall – Edinburgh Fringe review

Hit company YESYESNONO returns to Summerhall – moving to the Main Hall after the exit of usual home, the pop-up venue Roundabout – with As Far As We Know, a captivating, cerebral inquiry into the mechanics of narrative and the human obsession with answers, written and performed by Sam Ward.

Taking the stage in an officious brown corduroy blazer (looking every bit the pedantic schoolmaster), Ward produces a large wad of paper and launches into his tale. The central plot follows a woman who discovers mysterious, humming holes multiplying in her garden and embarks on a quest to figure out why. From there, she enters unconventional banks, sign shops and ominous desert caves. But the narrative trajectory is merely the vehicle (a witty, relentless one at that); the true subject is storytelling itself.

Divided into three distinct acts, the production plays relentlessly with delivery. In “Act One”, Ward hurtles through the narrative at a breakneck, absurd pace, reading directly from a printed script because the sheer volume of text is impossible for a single human’s memory to hold.

The format shifts radically in “Act Two”, stripping away spoken dialogue entirely. Here, the story relies on short, projected sentences that grow progressively mangled, distorted, and unhinged, truth and clarity decompressing as the woman’s experiences grow increasingly surreal and unexpected. Into “Act Three” we’re back – once more with Ward and his bundle of pages.

Where Ward’s past work often dismantled audience roles, As Far As We Know turns its gaze onto the nature of the those being watched. Flecked with whimsical, dry humour and a delightfully silly streak, the piece asks what purpose stories serve when answers do little to sate our impulses. It is yet another smart, meta-theatrical triumph that proves YESYESNONO remain at the absolute vanguard of experimental fringe theatre – this is one of the company’s best.

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