Home | We Had Fun

Shot and edited by Alastair More

a new play

Where did it all go wrong? Well, it depends who you ask. Close friends Oscar and Ela navigate the fallout of a drunken sexual encounter as their conflicting versions of events are replayed, rewound and re-written against the sensory medley of a wild night out.

Olivier & Tony nominated Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (SIX the Musical) directs the World Premiere of this anti-romcom and ‘vital dramatic debate’ (The Herald) around the greyest areas of consent and sexual politics.

"A remarkable debut"

★★★★★

West End Best Friend

"A thoughtful and deliberately uncomfortable exploration of consent"

★★★★½

One4Review

“Refreshingly nuanced.”

★★★★

Theatre Weekly

“A story that needs to be told.”

★★★★

Binge Fringe

"A powerful and important piece of theatre."

★★★★

A Young(ish) Perspective

"Fascinating performances."

★★★★

The Nerd Party

"Intelligent and wilfully provocative."

The Herald

"Completely gripping."

Exuent Magazine

"A promising debut."

The Stage

Photography by Sam Frank Wood; Design by Grant Kempster

Other Press

West End Best Friend: BEST OF THE FRINGE 2026: Jacob’s picks

The Peter Greenwood Show ‪@edfringe‬ 2026

Persistent & Nasty podcast - Episode 301: Edinburgh Festival - We Had Fun

ThreeWeeks: Three neurodiversity-led shows

Cafe Europa: 15 Shows to see at the Fringe

Broadway World: Show Announcement

What's On Edinburgh: Show Announcement

West End Best Friend: Edinburgh Fringe Top Picks

Theatre Weekly: Show Announcement

If you need any support to digest the show, or talk about your own thoughts, feelings and experiences relating to sexual violence, please visit https://thesurvivorstrust.org/

Performances

GenFest - Royal & Derngate (Northampton)

Fri 18 Sep: 20:30

GET TICKETS

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PAST PERFORMANCES

Summerhall (Old Lab) - Edinburgh Fringe Festival

6 - 31 Aug (24x performances)

Bitesize Festival - Riverside Studios (London)

Mon 27 - Wed 29 July (3x previews)

See It First Festival - Belgrade Theatre (Coventry)

Sat 25 July (2x previews)

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Jordan
Excellent show. The topics addressed and the storytelling are top notch. I especially enjoyed the style in which the story is told: a mix of conversations amongst the main characters to recall their reconciliation of events, intertwined with playbacks of how these actually went down. All 5 in my group could relate to the story and it provoked lots of great conversations amongst us afterwards.
Clare
An extremely brave gut punch of a show. Lovely production and some welcome comedic relief throughout.
Lena
EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS. The dialogue hits so unbelievably close to home, and top of that, the show is slick, the acting is superb — possibly one of my most favourite plays I've ever seen. This is exactly how conversations about consent often play out. Prepare to have strong feelings, but be comforted by the reactions of the audience around you, as well as the knowledge that you are NOT alone.
Kelly Houston
Captivating, uncomfortable, and utterly essential. We Had Fun at Summerhall explores the ambiguity and tension created when you mix friendship, poor boundaries, alcohol and sex. Add a splash of increasingly poor communication and watch the mix ignite! Performers Emmeline Hartley and Jack Mullings take their relationship to its edges in an incredibly raw, nuanced dive into the murky layers of consent. Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s direction, aided by the effortless talent of 2 comedic sidekicks keeps you gripped while allowing you to sit with difficult uncertainty. It is fresh, thought-provoking, and easily one of the most vital pieces of theatre at the Fringe this year. Although rightly sensitive to the sensibilities of the audience, it could have pushed the exploration of gender, nerodiversity and the meaning of violence even further however, once we left the performance my fri nds and I were talking non-stop about the issues for the next hour. We Had Fun is a must-watch if you care about communication, consent and the complexity of human relationships.
Anonymous
An incredibly human, heartfelt and tense show about it's tricky subject matter. Immersive and slick. Leaves you thinking long and hard.
Sam Higgins
A visually stunning, gripping and hard to watch but hard to look away performance by an incredible cast in this hard hitting production. Emmeline Hartley and the rest of the cast do an impeccable job of keeping the show alive through beautifully choreographed scene changes, witty one liners and artistically pleasing uncomfortable moments leaving stuck in the moment - desperately deciding whether to look away or keep looking. A highly recommended production that I think anyone who’s going to Fringe should watch
JoAnn Kohlbrand
Layer and real. Full of subtle turns that left me changing my mind the whole time. And, in the process, exposed that we subconsciously are hunting for clues to mark it up to terrible misunderstanding.
Lindsay Bennett-Thompson
Must see! Bold, Dangerous, Provocative. I could go on. Tackling the conversation about consent, memory and humans propensity to 'move on'.

The absolute strongest elements of this show are the script and exceptional performances. Don't be fooled by the debut show title, these performers are not only capable of navigating a polarising subject matter with nuance and fearlessness but they'll make you fall in love with them - which only makes things more problematic when your faced with the impossible decision of taking sides. Whose version do you believe?

We Had Fun should never be described as a creative palette cleanser, but in a sea of comedy shows it unapologetically screams "I am here"
Kathryn Schosland
Gosh what a show. Such an important subject so deftly handled. I felt for each of the characters and felt as lost in the mist of recollection, personal bias and miscommunication as they did. I also loved the blocking of the show, the set changes were a show in themselves, so cleverly done.
Imogen Taylor
Amazing acting and writing. Realistic and thought provoking. Definitely worth watching.
Kyle Urquhart
Haunting. I couldn't look away. The actors were beyond amazing and I couldn't recommend this show more. I knew the second it finished I had to leave some kind of review.
A must-watch! This show struck the right balance in dealing with the issues it tackles, which requires talented writing, subtle acting, and serious skill. My partner and I were discussing it for about 20 minutes outside afterwards, and I am sure I will be thinking about it for a while. The actors are phenomenal, especially the two leads. Watching this felt like holding my breath the whole time, it was amazing.
Jemima
Lisa Guerriero
I went into the room expecting a comedy show with a bit of a lesson or moral to take away, but I got so much more than that. All four performers were fantastic. The production was technically very well done, with smooth transitions, excellent pacing and a great flow throughout. There was never a dull moment.

What really stood out to me, though, was the emotional depth of the show. It takes you through such a wide range of emotions, often shifting from laughter to tension, discomfort, sadness and reflection in a matter of moments. It is funny, but it is also intense, vulnerable and thought-provoking. There is a real depth to the characters and themes, and the show stays with you long after it ends.

You can clearly see how much work, care and creativity has gone into this production. I left thoroughly entertained, but also with a lot to think about and, perhaps most importantly, a lot to feel, which is always a sign of a good show.

Not only do I highly recommend this show, I genuinely believe it is necessary!
Haleena Panicker
I watched We Had Fun over a week ago and have seen so much else since, but this is one of the few shows I’m still thinking about. So incredibly well-written, painfully real, and acted perfectly. It is heavy but also so necessary (and does have its funny moments!)

Tackles the nuances of consent we often overlook (even for ourselves) but truly should be discussed more. Highly recommend for literally anyone/everyone!!

Just note that it could be triggering, but audiences are welcome to step out if it’s ever too much.
Arianna Pasquini
This show has something to show. It doesn't have the arrogance of solving the sex violence issue yet it looks at the matter from a point of view that helps to feel the right shades of rage and sadness. The intensity of acting is progressivly escalating and impressivly deep. "We had fun" is intelligent, well written and beautifully performed and most of all a useful life tool.
Elliot Choate
Incredible. This is important. This is the theatre of now. I feel so lucky to have seen this.

See this show.
Tim Howell
The best thing I have seen at Fringe; deserves every award coming its way. Incredible creativity and innovation to take one aspect of sexual dynamics and consent and thoroughly effectively through script, performance and choreography get into the lived experience of both people. Rarely lost for wards but this is incredible and needs to be shown to every single sexually active person in the uk , followed by workshops and q and a. Loved it ***** 5 stars
Connor Macgregor
I'm all for characters with autism at the centre of theatre so this was a happy find. Really solid story with a mixture of convincing performances and unique dance that took the show to a new level.
RM
5 Stars

We Had Fun was a really interesting exploration of sexual consent and the importance of interpretation, nuance and perspective in the debate around it. I particularly liked that it encouraged the audience to dissect the actions, biases and points of view of its characters, while also showing us the objective truth of what happened. I saw it with a group of people, and afterwards we discussed how often we'd switched whose "side" we were on throughout the performance and why. Despite the heavy subject matter, it also made us giggle a few times. The comic relief was well placed without detracting from the seriousness of the topic. It was also evident how much effort had gone into the show, particularly the choreography and timing of the humour. Consent is an important and complex subject, and anything that encourages us to examine our own interpretations and biases, discuss different perspectives and be more open in talking about it is welcome. We left still discussing the show, which says a lot about how effectively it achieved that.
Mike
Good art does not just entertain, but holds a mirror up that is cleverly angled to make you question assumptions. The commitment in the acting and choreography of the play is excellent. After watching this, and you should, treat yourself to a book titles: How Proust can change your life.
Anonymous
We Had Fun is the kind of show that lingers long after the lights come up. Raw, well-written, and performed with real emotional depth by a cast that makes you fall for both characters even as you're forced to question them. What hit me most was how painfully recognisable so much of it felt; the miscommunications, the blurred lines, the quiet compromises. It's a story so many women (and plenty of others) will see themselves in, whether they want to or not. Despite the weight of the subject, there's real wit and warmth threaded through it, so you're laughing one moment and sitting with a lump in your throat the next. I left the theatre still turning it over in my head hours later, and honestly, I think I will be for a while yet.
Karen M
The best show I’ve seen so far at the fringe this year ! A must see! Kept me and my friends talking for hours afterwards . Cleverly written to really draw the audience in and the acting by Emmeline Hartley and Jack Mullings was fantastic - realistic and emotional . Loved the way it was all brought together - the hour flew by . Well done to all involved
Ian Rowland
Absolutely superb! This is an engaging, challenging yet easy-to-enjoy slice of theatrical brilliance. The play is taut and efficiently written, the story is clearly told and worth telling and the staging is satisfyingly ingenious. Emmeline Hartley's performance is surely one of the finest the Fringe has to offer.
Lara
A vital, confronting, and high energy production with strong performances dealing with consent and the emotional complexity around it. This would be a really valuable production to take into senior years at schools to use as a foundation for discussion.
Nate W
A master class in the use of space, time, movement, and grunge. The writing and acting are so true that this soon becomes one of those shows where you forget it isn’t real. A story on consent could easily feel like an afterschool special, but this felt like watching your friends on a true crime doc. Come watch if you’re sick of watching capital T “Theatre.”
Olivia
An uncomfortable but mesmerising watch. This play explores a dangerous cocktail of entitlement and obligation when friends cross into romantic territory on a night out. Oscar’s character becomes increasingly disturbing as the manipulative tendencies beneath his harmless façade emerge. We see Ela struggle in real time to reconcile these two versions of him when she offers to remain friends even when he hasn't acted as such.

The subtle violence of coercion and gaslighting is exposed, and how casually they can be employed when there's a benefit by even the safest-seeming people. We also encounter the devastating outcomes of appeasement, and are asked to consider the contribution of each side in toxic gender dynamics.

This is a powerful and thought-provoking work. I imagine not easy to act out night after night so huge credit to the actors for this undertaking.

01 / 16

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CAST

Jack Mullings

Emmeline Hartley

Emma Houston

Tessa Redman

Team

Emmeline Hartley & Jack Mullings

Writers

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille

Director / Movement Director

Annie Taylor-Gooby

Producer

Benjamin Vetluzhskikh

Lighting Designer

Blanka Barbara Stahl

Sound Designer

Havliah Pyrc

Costumer

Roshan Conn

Company Stage Manager / Operator

Sarah Wilson

Production Manager

Rose Ryan

Intimacy Director

Ellen Hartley

Vocal Coach

Emily Ring

Assistant Producer

Michelle Mangan

Sam Frank Wood

Poster Photography

Grant Kempster

Image & Poster Design

Megan Goldsman & Alastair More

Production Stills

Alex Knights & Kitty J Mason

Content Creators

Grant Kempster

Image & Poster Design

ALL OUR THANKS & GRATITUDE TO

Our wonderful R&D Team

Stephen Whitson, Charlotte Everest, Rebecca Browner, Leo Flint, Noelle Adames

And R&D Artists

Elan Butler, Lu Anthony, Jenet Le Lacheur, Zoë May Bales, Adei Bundy, Sabrina Nabi, Amar Saini, Andrew Joshi, Tom Rigby, Camille Burnett, Collette Guitart, Michael Naylor, Riley Woodford, Nadia Sohawon, Tom Crowhurst

To all R&D Contributors including

Joy Bright, Philip Cowburn, CeCe Anderson, Dr Emily Setty

To all our support behind-the-scenes in development & production including:

Darren Knapton, Benjamin Alborough, Shona Graham, Poppy Abbott, Tal Davies, Beth Larbey, Jade Samuels, Byrn Woznicki, Anna Spearpoint, Bobbi Blaza, Havilah Pyrc, Michael Hockey

And the organisations who've been behind us including:

Arts Council England, The Survivors Trust, Belgrade Coventry & In Good Company

And all of our friends, family and Crowdfund supporters.