WHAT'S ON at THE HOPE THEATRE
Concise and Easy to use
HOLD THE LINE
21st - 25th April
£10/£16/£18
7PM
For most people a bad shift isn’t life or death. But for Gary - it sure is.
Hold the Line is a comedy-drama based on the true events of working in a NHS111 call centre. After a patient unexpectedly dies during a routine health assessment, Gary’s livelihood and job are brought into disrepute as he faces the heat throughout the shift from hell. What happens when staff are overworked and mistakes are made?
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ‘gripping and thoughtful production’ - LondonTheatre1
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ‘touching and powerful piece of theatre’ - The Indiependent
★ ★ ★ ★ ‘while the theme is deadly serious, shards of humour lighten the darkness’ - The Times
★ ★ ★ ★ ‘Sharp, darkly comic episodes and poignant moments combine for a heartfelt drama’ - The List
★ ★ ★ ★ ‘Hold the Line is the type of theatre that speaks to its time’ - Bouquets & Brickbats
★ ★ ★ ★ ‘Thoughtful, well-performed and quietly damning’ - One4Review
‘Hold the Line’ written by Sam Harry Macgregor and nominated for OffFest 2026, debuted at Edinburgh Fringe 2025 with a critically acclaimed sold out run and is now embarking on a UK tour.
Running Time - 60 minutes
ASSISTED SEDUCTION
28th April - 9th May
£10/£16/£18
7PM
Assisted Seduction is a darkly comic two-hander that explores ageing, survival, and the uneasy bargains people make when life stops going to plan.
Bringing together Sandy, a former Playboy Bunny in her sixties clinging to glamour and control, and her niece Amber, a sharp and cynical woman in her late twenties trying to stay afloat in the gig economy. What begins as an awkward reunion soon spirals into a volatile confrontation where humour and hostility collide.
As old resentments surface and the stakes become clearer, the two women find themselves locked in a strange negotiation about autonomy, dignity, and the price of independence. Each believes they understand the other — but both are hiding more than they are willing to admit. Balancing biting comedy with moments of unexpected vulnerability, Assisted Seduction is a tense and intimate exploration of power, family, and the roles people perform in order to survive.
Written by Naomi Moylan-Torke and Ahsan Kazmi, and directed by Sophia Sinclair, the production is staged as a stripped-back two-hander that places language, performance, and audience proximity at the centre of the experience.
PUNCHING JUDY
3rd - 4th May
£10/£16/£18
7PM
“That’s the way to do it!”
Punch and Judy: a British entertainment institution famously contained within the confines of a small striped box. But what happens when the chaotic lives of these iconic characters tumble out of the booth and spill out into the real world?
With a blend of slapstick, clown and puppetry vs naturalistic drama; this dark tragicomedy explores the public and private lives of Punch and Judy alongside the whole host of characters that have for centuries populated their world. But, as the two sides of what happens on stage and off begin to blur, it makes for an unsettling comedy about our nation's most beloved and problematic couple - that is definitely, no longer for kids.
Punching Judy is the debut production from SkinnedTeeth Theatre.
"Who'd be plagued with a wife
That could set himself free
With a rope or with a knife,
Or a good stick, like me?"
HORATIO, IN THY HEART
10th - 11th May
£10/£16/£18
7PM
"One of the first things you learn about me is that I do not believe in ghosts.”
Scrawled in the margins of Shakespeare’s play, Horatio draws his breath in laughter and pain to tell the story of someone jangled out of tune – himself. Horatio has followed his situationship home for Christmas break. The fact that the young man in question is heir to the throne of Denmark and the son of a murdered warlord soon proves to be the least of his worries. Horatio loves people deeply, and he’s starting to suspect that the person he loves most may be more dangerous than plague, Nordic winter, or plot devices. When it comes to ghostly affairs, Horatio may have a secret or two up his sleeve as well.
A blast of fresh air for the world of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, HORATIO, IN THY HEART is a new play about the courage of setting boundaries and the complexity of mourning people who were bad for you.
Praise for Horatio, In thy Heart
"Merlin Stevens does well to amplify the distinctive voice of his Horatio... I must commend Achy Bits Productions" --The Scotsman
"Deeply poetic... an interesting play that has heart and promise" --LouReviews
DRUNK GIRLS CRY HERE
12th - 16th May
7PM
£18/£16/£10
Vodka, mascara, and existential dread - What happens in the girls’ bathroom… doesn’t stay there.
The Girls Bathroom. The stuff of legend, a safe haven, the epicentre of sanity and wholesomeness amongst men, vodka and shit tunes; or so Flick, Saph and Liv thought. Set over the course of one night, this cubicle will see the events that will shape their friendship, and their lives, forever.
Written by Eva Regan, and starring Áine O’Neill Mason, Emily Puttick, Eva Regan, Jordan Peedell, Jacob Hutchings and Kieran Robson, Drunk Girls Cry Here is a one-act play, that captures the chaos, tenderness, and brutal honesty found under flickering bathroom lights.
THE INHERITORS
19th - 23rd May
£10/£16/£18
7PM
'Sometimes I think you are the worst person I have ever known. Truly, deeply, undeniably the worst.'
Following a hugely successful run in Helsinki in 2025, Helsinki Contemporary Theatre Company transfer their inaugural production to London.
The Inheritors is a contemporary three-hander that explores the messy terrain of familial legacy, guilt, and the burdens we inherit from our parents. When three siblings reunite at the family Mökki to divide up their father’s estate, long-buried tensions resurface and what begins as a practical discussion turns into a reckoning with the past.
"A incredibly exciting new international theatre company. This play reveals the turmoil of grief and family gatherings and is sure to tug at the heartstrings." 4.5*- Cultural Helsinki
SORRY YOU FELT THAT WAY
26th - 30th May
£10/£16/£18
7PM
Emma met Adam in a Tesco at a strange time in her life. After six months of romance and joy she decides to move out of her mouldy box room and into his apartment. It just makes sense! Things are looking up for Emma. But on her first night in her new home Adam’s ex-girlfriend is waiting for her in the sitting room and she no longer feels safe.
A thrilling story about love and the things we wish we didn’t know.
Following on from a sold out, award winning run at Dublin Fringe Sorry You Felt That Way returns to The Hope Theatre Islington.
Winner of The Fishamble New Writing Award 2024
