Set against the high-pressure world of the NHS 111 call centre, Hold the Line is a gripping and darkly comic new play that shines a light on one of the most overlooked roles in healthcare. Written and performed by Sam Macgregor, the production draws directly from his own frontline experiences, exploring what happens when everyday calls spiral into life-or-death situations.

Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 and an OffFEST (Offies) 2026 nomination, the show arrives at The Hope Theatre for a limited run from 21–25 April. Blending sharp humour with powerful emotional moments, Hold the Line captures the relentless pace, moral dilemmas, and human cost of a job where there’s no pause button — only the next call.

We caught up with Sam Macgregor to talk about the inspiration behind the play, the challenges of bringing it to life on stage, and what he hopes audiences will take away.

What was the moment you realised, “This has to be a play?”

There wasn’t a specific moment where I knew I wanted to make a play. It was more a series of shifts, realising that I was getting a whole load of content that could be explored. I was in the middle of writing and then producing my debut play when I first started working for 111, so you’re looking at maybe one or two years into the job before anything actually started to happen. Eventually, I began to write thoughts down, and then characters gradually followed.

Why did you choose to set everything over one relentless shift?

It makes it more of a pressure-cooker setting, and I think it increases the stakes. Having time away from the call centre and time away from work allows one to de-stress and forget about the things that happen at work, so keeping it confined to one shift made more sense to create an effectively stressful environment for our character and the story.

There’s humour in some very dark moments – how did you find that balance?

I suppose it’s up to the audience to determine if it’s balanced correctly or effectively, but I didn’t want to just have scenes of 100% heavy themes. The light-hearted moments or comedic shifts happen in quite a relaxed and appropriate way, I think. It’s a challenge as a writer and an actor to ask yourself, “How can I make the audience go through different emotions in one scene?” And with a solid creative team of talented actors (shout out to my co-actor Gabi and my director), we are able to make those shifts and allow the audience to feel those emotions alongside the characters.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about NHS 111?

That they’re getting instant access to medical treatment, or that they’re speaking to a medically trained person. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great staff who are also at uni studying medicine and nursing, etc. But the initial health adviser only has about two months’ training. However, this is fairly rigorous training, and you’re put through your paces before you’re even taking calls. A lot of people start divulging medical information as if they were speaking to a GP. I still think there’s a lack of understanding of the process and what exactly 111 does, and I feel this play does shine a light on that in some ways.

Is Gary based on someone real, or a mix of people you’ve met?

He’s me, and also other people I’ve worked with closely or through being in the same workspace. I’m basically playing myself, though, and this is a very naturalistic performance, as is the dialogue.

Were you ever worried about how critical to be of the system?

Yeah, a bit. There was an old draft that I had to change slightly, as my employer didn’t like some specific references. Fortunately, it didn’t impact the story, so it was an easy fix. Most of my colleagues have watched it and have had nothing but good things to say. But the top brass or executives at the higher end of the employee ladder have yet to come along.

What’s the hardest part of performing multiple roles live?

Just the chopping and changing is a task. However, if you’re working with a good director, which we are – and if you’re open to trying new voices, new movements, and just in general open to throwing stuff out there and seeing if it sticks, you find yourself having a much easier time finding these characters and embodying them show after show.

How did audiences react in Edinburgh – anything that surprised you?

Overall, positive audience feedback, which you get directly after the show, which is obviously great. One show, someone piped up during my opening monologue in response to a reference I make to enjoying Nescafé Azera as being a high-grade instant coffee. This person shouted, “Boycott Nestlé.” And I was like, “Hey, it’s good coffee though.” And she was like, “Nah, they’re an awful company, boycott.” And I was like, “Yeah, OK, sorry, I’ve got to get back to my next line.” Luckily, I riffed a little bit off it and got to the next bit.

Do you hope the play changes how people think about NHS staff wellbeing?

Well, obviously that would be great, but I feel like most people probably have some awareness about this anyway. I think the tricky thing with doing a play about the NHS is that people sort of know already the issues that it’s facing, so making a play about it almost feels lacking in effectiveness or originality, some might argue. I wanted to home in on that point, though, but tell it in a new way. Remind people again of those very issues, but with a fresh perspective – the new take being through a 111 call centre.

If someone only takes one thing away from the show, what do you want it to be?

Use the NHS, respect it, love it, and cherish it – because who knows what it will be like in decades to come.

Hold The Line will be at Hope Theatre from 21^st – 25^th April. Tickets are available HERE.