Hope Theatre, London – until 20th September 2025
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
4*****
It’s the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic is in the headlines, and people are afraid and need somewhere to turn. Four women work in shifts to cover the phones in the office of the newly renamed London Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, united by their purpose – to provide support and information to the wider community. Supervisor Lou (Fatima Abdullahi) is the leader of the group, managing the volunteers with focus and care and being there to fix the dodgy phones. Joan (Megan Keaveny) is a staunch feminist with a determination to educate the male volunteers on women’s issues, and she’s also Lou’s ex. Trainee Jackie (Áine McNamara) is young and keen and a nervous ball of chatty energy. Lastly there is Nana (Hannah Balogun) who has been absent from the switchboard for 6 months and is swerving questions as to where she has been.
The switchboard offices are filled to the brim with files. There is a file for everything from accommodation to AIDS to “women”. The Hope Theatre’s intimate space is no problem for Dan Southwell’s packed set. The walls are lined with posters, information, and more files, all of which you can read from your seat. A microphone hangs to the side and the cast take it in turns to play callers as well as the staff on the phones. Joy, tragedy, anger, and illness are all present on the end of the phone as they learn that more and more friends and colleagues are diagnosed with HIV and AIDS, and they take calls from desperate teens and whispering mothers.
Under direction from Molly Byrne, the cast fizz with energy and excel in their roles. Even though there are only four cast members, they rarely appear in a scene all together, skillfully stitching together the lives of the callers and volunteers they portray. Somehow the 90 minutes seem all at once too long and not long enough. Perhaps The Switchboard Project would be better as a 2 act play, giving the characters more space to breathe and develop.
The Switchboard Project is an ambitious, funny, heartfelt piece of theatre which highlights the often ignored work that women did during the AIDS crisis. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The picture it paints is one of survival and hope, and it lays out the historical foundations for Switchboard which is still going today and is still a vital helpline for the LGBTQIA+ community. Different times but same need for a calm word and a non-judgemental ear.