Hold, Please!

January 1942. The war is raging abroad, but on Barnfield Road, another kind of work is underway. Inside a repurposed theatre-turned-telephone-exchange, a group of women are keeping the lines open and the country connected, one call at a time.

Set in the very building where it all happened, Hold, Please! is a funny, heartfelt, and quietly defiant new play inspired by real stories from women who worked in wartime communications. As telegrams arrive, tea is brewed, and secrets ripple down the wires, the operators navigate a world of duty, love, grief, and the ordinary chaos of holding it all together.

And when a visitor from the War Office arrives asking questions — not just about cables, but about people — the stories that emerge are ones that deserve to be heard.

Northcott Young Company has classes for young performers aged 5–16. They meet weekly during term time to explore theatre, build confidence, and create work together. Sessions are led by professional artists and focus on collaboration, imagination, and developing performance skills. The groups regularly share their work on stage, and all our work is led and inspired by the young people we work with.

Young Creatives is a group for 16–19 year olds to experiment, take creative risks and make original work. Meeting weekly at the Barnfield Theatre, the group works together for a whole year to develop a performance piece that takes place on one of our stages at the end of the programme. The programme offers a practical insight into theatre-making and supports young people to develop their skills, voice and confidence as emerging creatives.