About the Play:

Gone Too Far! has become a favourite of acting teachers for Male Monologues and Male/Male Scenes.

Gone Too Far! is a full-length drama by Bola Agbaje. With frankness and humour, Gone Too Far! tells the story of two young brothers, one brought up in Nigeria and one on a London a social housing estate – home to many immigrants of African and Caribbean descent – who go on a mission to buy a pint of milk. As they cross the estate, the tension mounts as a seemingly innocent trip to the shops escalates into a series of race-fuelled confrontations.

Gone Too Far! revolves around the themes of racial identity and youth culture. Nigeria, England, America, Jamaica; are you proud of where you're from? Dark skinned, light skinned, Afro, weaves, who are your true brothers and sisters? When two brothers from different continents go down the street to buy a pint of milk, they lift the lid on a disunited nation where everyone wants to be an individual but no one wants to stand out from the crowd. Nigerian Ikudayisi speaks with an American accent, while younger brother Yemi refuses to acknowledge his African roots. Fast-talking youth Armani ties herself in knots about her mixed race Jamaican heritage, and even the local Muslim shopkeeper plays prayer music but also unabashedly wears a football shirt to assert his Englishness. Gone Too Far! is a comic and astute play about identity, history and culture, portraying a world where respect is always demanded but rarely freely given.

Born of frustration at the lack of complex black characters in drama, Bola Agbaje wrote her debut play Gone Too Far! in four weeks. It premiered in 2007 at the Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs) as part of its Young Writers Festival and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliated Theatre. It transferred to run in the main Downstairs space at the Royal Court Theatre, known for ground-breaking modern drama for half a century. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been performed in acting school productions as a showcase of student talent.

Cast: 4 female, 8 male

What people say:

"It has such energy, humour and sharpness… displays such a feel for street-slang, and deftly unpicks the confused impulses of young adults trying to work out their identity in multicultural Britain." — The Financial Times

"Bola Agbaje has an astute eye and ear and offers a different perspective to her male counterparts." — The Guardian

"In her remarkable debut as a playwright Bola Agbaje walks two teenage black brothers around a dilapidated London council estate. She exploits their close encounters to give us a jolting lesson about the range of identities, beliefs and anxieties concealed beneath black or blackish skins." — Evening Standard

"...a sparky, hugely promising and entertaining all-rounder." — Time Out London

"Although this is a very familiar sociological cityscape, Agbaje writes about it with a freshness and energy that is verbally delightful, along with a clarity of observation that feels both mature and insightful." — The Tribune

About the Playwright:

Bola Agbaje is an award-winning British playwright of Nigerian origin who graduated from the young writers program at the Royal Court. Her plays have been seen at the Royal Court Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and the Young Vic, amongst others. She was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.