First Do No Harm

Against the backdrop of the suffragist movement and England on the brink of war, Harold and Maud Leggett arrive in a small market town in the Cambridgeshire Fens where Harold is to practise as the town’s only ‘Panel’ doctor, under Lloyd George’s controversial health and welfare reforms. The established medical fraternity, led by the redoubtable Dr Ridgeway, is firmly opposed to the new system and soon Harold and Ridgeway, both combative, both driven by personal ideology, are at loggerheads. The consequences are catastrophic. This powerful, fast-moving play by playwright Hilary Spiers dramatises a forgotten corner of history, charting the huge personal and societal cost of establishing a national healthcare service and securing universal suffrage. Unison members have access to tickets at the concessionary rate of £5 per ticket. Please book a standard ticket and bring proof of membership to the Box Office.