On the Frontline: Sam Macgregor Brings NHS 111 Stories to the Stage

In the high‑pressure world of NHS 111, every call could be life‑changing - or even life‑saving. For the past five years, Sam Macgregor has been on the other end of that phone line, handling everything from everyday ailments to moments of extreme crisis. Now, he’s channelled those experiences into Hold the Line, a gripping new play currently making its Edinburgh Fringe debut.

What made you want to write Hold The Line?

I work for NHS 111 and I honestly think I’d worked for 111 for 4 years before anything started to stick because there is so much to learn. Essentially, I wanted people to be aware of how interesting the job was, and I knew this could be communicated via a theatre show. 

Can you tell us briefly about what it was like working on the NHS frontline?

It can be challenging, frustrating, but then it can also be incredibly rewarding. 

The play explores the tension between compassion and performance in a target‑driven system. How did that tension feel to live through on a daily basis?

Conflicting would be a word I'd use. On one hand, you want to listen and to make sure the patient is being listened to and supported. On the other hand, our job requires that calls should be kept to a certain length and that you need to be taking a minimum of four calls an hour to keep within your targets. It can be a difficult balance!

Was there a particular moment or shift that stayed with you and informed the way you structured the play?

A few mental health cases have stuck with me. You’re essentially speaking to someone who is currently going through perhaps the worst moment in their life, and it’s just you and them. At first, all you have are the questions we’re required to ask all mental health callers. Once the questions are done, sometimes you have to put your own spin on the situation and improvise. Depending on the situation, you can end up talking about music or films. It’s incredibly personal, just two people chatting during a time when someone might be about to take their own life, or is strongly considering it. 

One of the most striking things about the role is how much moral and emotional weight you carry for strangers you never see. How did that shape you, both during your time in the job and now as a writer?

I guess it does make you more empathetic towards strangers. It actually made me more inclined to help in actual ‘in-person’ situations. I’m also first aid trained, and there have been a few times where I've helped people in public -I find I’m very quick to assess how I can help when someone is in medical trouble - and working at 111 has informed that enormously. 

When it comes to writing, it made it easier to write the characters and their dialogue. However, a lot of that was based on real conversations I've picked up over the last five years, so whilst all names and situations were changed, in some ways it kind of wrote itself. 

Finally, what do you hope audiences take away?

I'm excited to bring something new up to Edinburgh. We’ve performed short pieces of this at scratch nights across 2024 going into 2025, so it was in good shape before we even began rehearsals. 

Without sounding very generic, we want audiences to be informed as well as entertained. I think it will make people find their own inner compassion and hopefully change people's perspective on the 111 service, which does an incredible job of helping the public. 

Hold the Line will be performed at 4.25pm in the Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Two) from 30th July – 25th August (not 18th)

For tickets and more information, visit: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/hold-line