A Man and His Circumstance – Hope Street Theatre

A man and his circumstance is a thought provoking and educational piece of theatre based around breaking the stigma of talking about male health issues and opening the floor for men to talk. Written and produced by Tom Cain, owner of his own independent theatre company Tom Cain Theatre.

The performance is portrayed by three very talented actors, some of whom take on multiple roles throughout the performance. Firstly, Matthew Swinnerton who plays Joel, a friendly, down to earth, relatable lad next door type. He is the main character and narrates the whole story.  You empathise with his health struggles, and he portrays a guy’s different personalities within different settings and social groups extremely well. Also, portraying touching more delicate moments with ease. Thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

Bethany Rosehill and Sean Robinson take on multiple roles. Bethany switches between male and female roles with ease and provides excellent comedic value as scrappy Skully as well as the much needed emotional and supportive roles of Mum, Doctor and girlfriend Sarah. An excellent performance in all characters and believable in every role.

Sean Robinson has some excellent comedic characters and moments, from Marko and his quick switch of character when mum is around in comparison to friends had me smiling from ear to ear and is a very true to form and funny observational comedy. Derick had to be one of my favourite characters as he was quirky, fun but also had the soft sensitive side. Robinson also showed his comedic timing as Chris, Joel’s brother.

Costumes were easily interchangeable and perfect for simply portraying exactly who was playing which character and they were quicky recognisable. The set was very simplistic with only three boxes but utilised wonderfully with limited need for props. It shows that you do not need an elaborate staging to tell a really good story and capture an audience’s attention.

A thought provoking, funny, and overall wonderful performance. Thank you so much for bringing this much needed message to our theatres in such an entertaining and engaging way.

This production is supported by 15 square an international charity based in the UK who provide early interventions and ways of accessing healthcare. They are available at each performance to offer advice and information around the themes of the play.

This performance runs until February 1st. Tickets can be purchased at

Reviewer: Stephanie Wiswall

Reviewed: 30th January 2025

North West End UK Rating: