Sean Daniels brings their critically acclaimed play The White Chip to Southwark Playhouse Borough this summer, marking its UK premiere. The autobiographical production explores addiction and recovery with raw honesty and unexpected humour.
Directed by Matt Ryan and produced by Danielle Tarento and Annaleigh Ashford, the show has already earned accolades in New York, including a New York Times Critics’ Pick. Daniels’ unique voice and lived experience make this a must-see for theatre lovers and advocates alike.
The White Chip runs from 9 July to 16 August 2025. For tickets and more information, can be found here.
You’re bringing The White Chip to Southwark Playhouse Borough – what can you tell us about the show?
The first thing I always say is that it’s a comedy. It’s a funny show. It’s a mother/son show. It’s heartwarming. It’s a fun night at the theatre. It’s also about the worst part of my life. Which is, of course, hilarious to other people.
The White Chip is based on your own experiences with addiction and recovery. How did it feel to turn such a personal journey into a stage production?
I’m always terrified when audiences come in to see it – and slightly embarrassed. Why have I done this? Can I just shut up for once? But then as they leave, people tell me about how this was the story of their uncle, their daughter, their ex-husband – and even though we know that 1/3 people are directly linked to someone with a substance use disorder, we forgot since we don’t talk about it a society – and really, this is just talking about something we ALL deal with.
The play has been described as both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving. How do you strike that balance between humour and vulnerability?
I’ve always worked in comedy – and I don’t know how you have any conversation about anything without comedy being a part of it. I grew up with “After School Specials” on TV in the 80’s – where serious topics were treated with the most reverence, and I’m going to bet it only made it worse. So, I don’t think we’re going to have any real conversations until we can share a laugh, relax and then begin. John Cleese said, “Laughter is a force for democracy” and I truly believe that. It’s the beginning of connection and putting down our guard. So, yes, this about serious things, but it’s about universal serious things, so let’s have a laugh first.
This UK premiere is partnering with organizations like Performing Recovery and Club Soda. Why was it important for you to include these collaborations?
This is all the brilliance of Producer Danielle Tarento, she was very clear early on “if we do it and it doesn’t help people, we’ve missed the point” – so she started these collaboration conversations a year ago – so that we can authentically be in the community we’re trying to serve.
And I love that we’re doing it – we all got into theatre because we saw early on the power it can have over a community, and so often we lose that noble start as we think about ticket sales, racist board members and post-Covid buying patterns. Danielle is getting back to my punk rock roots, which is to say that a piece of theatre can galvanize organizations and communities.
What has the audience response been like in previous productions, and have there been any moments that particularly stood out to you?
In NYC after every performance someone came up and said, “I’m ready to get help” – actually at the first preview someone came up and said, “I’m an alcoholic but I’m not sober right now” and two weeks later we got a message from them saying “I have 14 days today”.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The White Chip?
By the end of the run in NYC, we had people showing up trying to hand us cash to sneak them in. While I love that attitude – and who doesn’t love cash – we just couldn’t get them in. So don’t make the same mistake as them!
