★★★

“Most people think of NHS 111 as the number you call for minor ailments – a twisted ankle, a high temperature, a late-night worry – but for the people on the other end of the line, the stakes can be just as high as those faced by paramedics and emergency responders. This hidden, high-stress side of the job, where even a ‘routine’ call can become a life-or-death crisis, is at the heart of Hold the Line, revealing the unseen strain of a role that asks people to absorb trauma in real time, with no time to process, pause, or recover.”

Sam Macgregor brings his critically acclaimed two-person show to Islington’s The Hope Theatre after a successful 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut. The show is inspired by writer and lead performer Macgregor’s real-life experiences on the NHS 111 frontline, starting with a playlist that is on the nose – Bee Gees ‘Stayin Alive’, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s ‘Telephone’, and The Beatles’ ‘Help!’.

Macgregor, playing Gary on shift, begins sitting in the middle of the audience on the front row, turning around to interact with the crowd and break the fourth wall all while remaining in character. His co-star, Gabriela Chanova, is impressively adept at switching from playing a daughter to a suicidal young man, to a big corporate boss – changing accents and tones et al. 

At its core, Hold the Line asks what it means to carry the trauma of strangers shift after shift, without time for reflection, relief, or recovery. What happens when human emotion collides with institutional indifference, and how do you keep going when the next call is always just a ring away?

When Gary, a health adviser and unlikely everyman, picks up a routine call from a panicked daughter whose father is slipping into a diabetic coma, a normal shift suddenly spirals into chaos. With escalating stakes, impossible decisions, and the constant pressure to keep the lines moving, Gary is forced to confront the emotional and moral toll of a job that demands constant composure – even when lives hang in the balance.

It captures the tension between the relentless pace of call centre work and the profound human stakes of healthcare, revealing a system that asks its staff to care deeply while moving quickly, to be compassionate without hesitation, and to absorb trauma without pause. There’s even a dance break to ‘Call on Me’ with the red telephones as props, which feels like a fever dream within a dream.

With characters drawn from lived experience and dialogue honed by first-hand insight, Macgregor shines a light on one of the NHS’s most invisible jobs, capturing the quiet heroism and everyday tragedy of those tasked with holding it all together.

Hold the Line is showing at The Hope Theatre in Islington from 21 to Saturday 25 April. The show then continues on a regional tour to Nottingham and Newcastle.