We sat down with Gabriela Chanova (actor and co-producer) to talk about HOLD THE LINE which has recently concluded an impressive run at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe after being first shown to the public at a Freelance Royalty Scratch Night here at the Stratford East bar. 

Here’s what Gabriela had to say about her experience: 

“It was halfway through one of our initial meetings as a newly formed team (which had never worked together before) when an email containing the words ‘we'd love to offer you a place if you're still interested’ appeared in our inbox. Needless to say, our meeting became a full-on rehearsal very quickly. 

We wouldn’t surprise anyone if we said that scratch nights and rehearsed readings are an integral part of the mounting of a piece of theatre and a fantastic crash course into critical thinking and inspiration for the audiences. It’s often the nights we refer to when we talk about ‘how it all started’ over a pint at the pub after a show. Previous drafts of Hold the Line had been performed at various scratch nights such as Omnibus Theatre and Wooden Arrow Productions and had informed many choices and rewrites. But the transformation of the play from a five-hander into an innovative two-hander (perhaps the biggest change) was first introduced to the audience at Stratford East on Wednesday 21 May.  

To have been chosen amongst what we can imagine was a sea of amazing submissions and supported so warmly on the day was a delightful experience. We were given time and space to iron out some creases and make sure that even though we were showing a small extract, we could deliver it to the highest possible standard and receive informed and beneficial audience reactions and feedback. The scratch was hosted in a very relaxed and supportive environment and it was a delight to be joined by the wonderful Stratford East artistic team and staff members, Stratford East Artistic Director Lisa Spirling and other top notch performers. It of course goes an extremely long way that we also received financial support for the time that we put into our preparation and performance - it felt like our effort, skills and time were fully valued. The evening was well structured with time to make notes and ask questions, as well as short interviews with the teams. We also received typed up feedback after the Scratch, which freed us from having to make notes of what came up in conversation on the night. It was wonderful to have been able to perform together for the first time and experiment with some scenes in front of friendly faces ahead of our previews at Seven Dials Playhouse in July. 

Two months later Hold the Line was ready to hit the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and we are delighted to say it was extremely well received with consistent sell outs, fantastic reviews from audiences, even more specifically NHS staff and critical acclaim, including a 4-star review from The Times. We are very grateful to everyone who supported us along the way (Stratford East, Seven Dials Playhouse, Rosemary Branch Theatre and The Pleasance) and it is so reassuring to know that large venues with tens and hundreds of years of history and impressive work really care about the new wave of new writing and talent waiting to compel the London and UK theatre scene. Hold the Line has exciting post-Fringe life plans and we advise everyone to keep an eye out on @holdtheline_play and be the first to hear about them.  

And whilst we knew this already, it is now clearer than ever that it truly takes a village to make a solid, compelling and accessible theatre show.” 

Inspired by the true stories of actor-writer Sam Macgregor, HOLD THE LINE is a comedy/drama set in a NHS111 call centre. The play centers on Gary, a health adviser who faces the shift from hell when a patient unexpectedly dies during a routine assessment over the phone. Who’s to blame, what consequences will there be? 

The team featured Sam Macgregor (actor, writer, co-producer), Gabriela Chanova (actor, co-producer), Laura Killeen (director) and Johnny Phethean (sound designer) and ran at Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 2, for four weeks. 

The Freelance Royalty Scheme is Stratford East’s membership designed to support arts freelancers aged 18+ living or working in East London. Membership is completely free and comes with a host of benefits. Check out the Freelance Royalty Scheme online.