Review: HOLD THE LINE at the Hope Theatre

Sam Macgregor’s semi-autobiographical play, which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, is based on his own experiences as a phone responder in an NHS 111 call centre. Hold The Line is involving and humorous, especially when focussing on the day-to-day aspects of this vital, exhausting and unpredictable vocation.

Macgregor’s Gary is an endearing everyman. Like anyone, there are occasions when he arrives late to work and can be more focussed on the football scores than his job. Although we don’t hear much about Gary’s home life, he still feels like a real and rounded character. Speaking of characters, all the others in Hold The Line are played by Gabriela Chanova, who does an excellent job of embodying various 111 callers and Gary’s bro-ish boss, an over-worked doctor who provides Gary with professional advice. Chanova’s comfort in silence enhances her performances, especially when she portrays a particularly troubled young caller towards the end of the play. 

Macgregor includes plenty of specific detail about a 111 responder’s job, motivations and lifestyle, which can be funny and moving. Less successful is Hold The Line’s exploration of the corporate coldness behind Gary’s work. His boss is portrayed as a callous caricature, which is out-of-place with the realism and sympathy Macgregor displays towards all other characters. The play doesn’t use this tension to dig into deeper issues within the NHS, which seems a missed opportunity. Perhaps this is a flaw of the semi-autobiographical nature of Hold The Line — Macgregor is still airing his grievances at his previous boss, rather than focussing on realism and consistency of tone. There are also a couple of experimental interludes in the play, which go on too long and don’t serve the story or themes. Macgregor is at his most powerful when focusing on the minutiae of a Gary’s daily life. 

Director Laura Killeen does a great job in making two actors on a small blackbox stage feel part of a busy and real world. Although most interactions happen by phone, Killeen ensures that the characters have a strong and believable connection. Hold The Line has limited set and props, which evokes a sparse, urgent feel. At an hour long, the play's brevity adds to its punchiness. Although not all of Macgregor’s artistic choices work, his experiences of this specific, high-pressure and often thankless job make for an exciting evening. Perhaps we should still be banging our pots and pans for the NHS!

HOLD THE LINE continues at the Hope Theatre until 24th April.