Do Not Attempt This Conversation at The Hope Theatre, London Review
Written by Alex for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
Do Not Attempt This Conversation is a 60-minute two-hander written and performed by Mo Maka, a practising NHS doctor, and directed by Eden Igwe. It follows Dr. Nneka, a junior doctor at the end of an exhausting shift, who is asked to lead a DNAR (Do Not Attempt Resuscitation) conversation with the granddaughter of a patient she has never met. The play will be heading to Edinburgh Fringe later this year.
Maka's background is felt throughout the writing. The play offers a rare and personal insight into a side of NHS work that rarely gets this kind of focus. This is an illuminating hour for anyone wanting to understand the weight of each individual conversation happening in tense and rushed conditions.
Maka is convincing as Nneka, portraying the character's exhaustion with subtlety and credibility. Amaju Jade Samuel as Stephanie, the granddaughter, is excellent. She is funny, committed, and a strong contrast to Maka's measured doctor. The two characters’ relationship shifts between empathy, animosity, and companionship with great ease, and the writing feels natural throughout.
The portrayal of grief and the irrationality that sometimes comes with it is a real strength of the script. The humour in the play, much of it coming from Samuel's character, is well-judged. In a piece that raises life-or-death considerations, the comedy provides necessary relief without undermining the weight of the subject.
The staging is minimal, which suits a hospital setting well enough. Where the production misses a trick is in its use of sound. There is some ambient noise at times, but a busier sonic backdrop, with the constant noise of a hospital ward, would have done a lot to ground the audience in the environment and emphasise the sense of pressure Nneka is under.
The writing is at its strongest when covering the specifics of end-of-life care. It is occasionally harder to believe in the situation itself. A doctor spending an entire hour negotiating with a relative strains credibility at times.
At 50 minutes, the runtime is broadly right, though it does stretch slightly in places.
Do Not Attempt This Conversation is a strong debut from a first-time playwright with something genuinely important to say.
Do Not Attempt This Conversation plays at Edinburgh Fringe 24 to 29 August. Full price tickets are £11.50.
★★★½
