The Switchboard Project – Hope Theatre

It is 1985, and above a bookshop in King’s Cross, a small team of volunteers huddle around phones, scribbling notes, fumbling for pens, and trying to keep the lines open. For Lou, Joan, Nana and Jackie, it’s another evening at Gay Switchboard. But as the phones ring, their work becomes far more than routine, it’s a lifeline for a community under siege.

Molly Byrne’s The Switchboard Project brings to life the often-forgotten stories of lesbian volunteers who played an essential role in building queer solidarity during the AIDS crisis. Drawing inspiration from real calls and interviews, Byrne has created a piece that is both dramatically rich and emotionally resonant, shining a light on the resilience and humour that powered these women through impossible circumstances.

The writing is crystal sharp and layered, never drifting into sentimentality yet always deeply humane. One call might leave us in stitches as a voice on the line cheekily asks what the volunteers are wearing; the next is a gut-punch, as a man voices his fear of an impending HIV diagnosis. Byrne’s greatest triumph is in balancing these extremes, ensuring the play feels as alive and unpredictable as the phone lines it recreates.

The cast excels across the board. Fatima Abdullahi’s Lou anchors the play with quiet strength and compassion, capturing the emotional weight of hearing so many stories while still holding space for laughter. Megan Keaveny’s Joan delivers sharp, feminist wit alongside a simmering frustration at the invisibility of lesbian voices in the wider movement. Hannah Balogun’s Nana is magnetic, her own hardships pushed into the background as she channels her energy toward the greater good of the cause, while Áine McNamara’s Jackie brims with energy, her sharp comedic timing underscored by moments of raw vulnerability and a profound compassion for friends gradually lost to the AIDS crisis. Together, the four young performers form an entirely believable unit: sparring, joking, supporting, and occasionally fraying under the strain.

The design elements heighten the sense of immersion. Arianna Muñoz’s sound design peppers the action with the constant shrill of ringing phones, reminding us that these women never truly get a break. Sameer Aggarwal’s lighting delicately shifts the mood, from the intimacy of a single spotlight during harrowing calls to the warmth of shared laughter, and a pink hue reminiscent of the seedy 1980’s streets of Kings Cross.

Crucially, the play also interrogates the politics of language and visibility. The repeated frustration “Why isn’t it Lesbian and Gay Switchboard?” feels more than a historical detail. It’s a reminder of how easily certain voices can be erased, even within liberation movements. By centring these women, Byrne corrects a silence and offers audiences a story that feels both urgent and overdue.

The Switchboard Project is educational without ever being didactic, funny without diminishing its gravitas, and heartbreaking without losing hope. It is a vital, celebratory tribute to the women who answered the call, literally and figuratively, at a time when their community needed them most. Highly recommended viewing, The Switchboard Project runs at The Hope Theatre until 20^th September 2025. Tickets are available at https://www.thehopetheatre.com/theswitchboardproject

Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin

Reviewed: 5^th September 2025

North West End UK Rating: