“LIFELINE”

I guess that the first production from Lifeline Theatre Company  was bound to be called, well, Lifeline. In Association with Leith Festival, a fast growing player on the alternative arts scene on the East Coast, it is original play written, produced and directed by Julian Wickham featuring an international cast of 9 actors.


So far, so press release but... it is an interesting premise for a script... read on....

Set in modern day Edinburgh; We follow the story of loveable no hoper Phil Roach. Phil’s lacklustre relationship with his girlfriend Sarah ends disastrously in a Leith café. Phil’s life is torn apart; he soon realises that with Sarah’s departure his limited social life also suffers a massive blow. Fast approaching 30 Phil realises he has no friends and is alone in the city, devoid of human contact with only a mundane 9 to 5 job and a cynical, preoccupied yet loveable mother to turn to. It soon dawns on Phil, that he wants something more out of life.

A loveable no-hoper? Make him a critic and I think this describes my weekends. Apart from having a cynical mother: my mother is oddly optimistic, in a way that I thought disappeared at about the age of twenty...

At his lowest ebb Phil becomes inspired to post 10 thousand flyers all over Scotland bearing his name and his telephone number with the simple message “Are you Lonely? Call Phil Roach, day or night, Here to talk.”

I wish I had thought of that... I bet it would give my dating life a new lease of life.

Intrepid Phil has no idea just how popular his flyers are bound to become. Phil begins to receive Phone calls from people of all walks of life, from all levels of society, ranging from the hilarious and downright ridiculous – to the sinister and the creepy. Over the course of 6 months, with the help of the internet Phil receives over 10 thousand phone calls from people from all over the world.. The play highlights the most important characters that enter Phil’s life through the modest means of the telephone, and how Phil’s call for help in turn helps so many others.

Lifeline's characters range from kinky socialites to cheating housewives, teenage tearaways; to down and outs. They all share one thing in common, which is loneliness.
Lifeline is a highly entertaining portrayal of people from all areas of society facing difficulties in their own way. A black comedy, a tragedy; Lifeline is story of love and compassion and the rediscovery of humanity in the sometimes barren far flung reaches of everyday life.

Three nights Friday 20th Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June 2014

Doors: 19:30 Show 20:00pm
Tickets are £10 / £8
Tickets can be purchased online at

South Leith Parish Hall, 6 Henderson Street EH6 6BS