Danielle Tarento and Annaleigh Ashford will co-produce the UK premiere of the Off-Broadway smash hit The White Chip at Southwark Playhouse.
Written autobiographically by Sean Daniels and directed by Matt Ryan, The White Chip will run from 9th July to 16th August 2025, with press night on 11th July at 7pm.
Despite spending more time drunk than sober, Steven McAlister has managed to graduate from college, create an extremely successful theatre group, get married, and thrive in a dream job at one of the most prestigious regional theatres in the United States. Sure, it’s gratifying to go to an AA meeting where they reward you with a white chip token just for showing up, but does he really have a problem?
Even with an ailing father, a marriage on the rocks, and his professional life careening out of control, Steven has a carefully constructed balancing act that keeps it all together – until it all falls apart. Told with humour, honesty, and compassion, The White Chip is about living with addiction and coming alive through recovery.
Sean Daniels said: “It’s an honour to get to work with Danielle Tarento and Annaleigh Ashford to bring The White Chip to London. After the response we had in New York – the mix of laughter-filled shows and someone saying ‘I’m ready to get help’ after every performance – we knew we wanted to keep this going as long as we could. When you write a comedy about recovery you hope it finds the right people, people who get your dark sense of humour – from actors to producers to audience – and how lucky am I that it has.”
The show premiered in New York at 59E59 Theaters and was most recently produced at The Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater at MCC Theatre by Tony® Award winning actress Annaleigh Ashford alongside Hank Azaria, Jason Biggs, and fellow Tony® Award winner John Larroquette. The play received widespread acclaim, earning a coveted New York Times Critics’ Pick.
The production is working closely with Performing Recovery, the public face of the Addiction Recovery Arts Network, a non-profit organisation which promotes, connects and shares creative recovery practices thereby reducing the stigma of addiction-recovery. A percentage of every ticket sold will be donated to Performing Recovery.
Leon Clowes, co-founder of the Addiction Recovery Arts Network, will be reading The Alcoholic’s Tarot for anyone with burning questions after the show. As an artist with lived experience of addiction, he offers light-hearted readings of your alcoholic misfortunes using his adapted tarot cards. He’ll also be available after each performance to offer support, advice and guidance or just to chat about anything that may have come up for audience members during the play.
He said: “Performing Recovery is delighted that Tarento Productions is the first major sponsor of our network and magazine. Our mission is to ensure that the arts are the driving force behind changing the conversation around addiction, so to be supported and partnered with one of London’s top theatre producers and to have the opportunity to work along-side her on The White Chip is game changing for us.”
The production is delighted to be partnering with Club Soda and sponsored by Everleaf.
Club Soda is a global mindful drinking movement that helps people change their drinking habits. Through events, courses, community support, and better drinks, they empower individuals to make choices that work for them.
They said: “Alcohol-free drinks are a vital part of creating an inclusive arts experience, and we’re excited to see more theatres beginning to embrace this. With a play that invites reflection on drinking habits, it’s powerful to see the theatre make that conversation tangible. Offering a delicious, adult alcohol-free option shows that choosing not to drink isn’t a compromise – it can actually make your night out even better.”
Everleaf was founded by a conservation biologist turned mixologist who knows the world’s plants and how to use them. They make non-alcoholic aperitifs with nature’s tastes, textures and aromas so bartenders and consumers can craft great drinks. Everleaf variants take inspiration from the natural world, from the crisp and refreshing notes of Everleaf Marine, to the bittersweet Everleaf Forest, and vibrantly aromatic Everleaf Mountain, all of which will be available throughout the run.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
