Review: Do Not Attempt This Conversation

📍 The Hope Theatre

🗓️ 22nd July 2026

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Do Not Attempt This Conversation is a 50-minute play that highlights the difficulty and reality of conversations with family members about end-of-life care.

Written by Dr Maureen Nwabueze, who also performs under the name Mo Maka and plays Dr Nneka in the production, it portrays an incredibly thought-provoking and relevant conversation.

Dr Nneka is a junior doctor on call who is thrown into the deep end when she has to discuss a DNAR (Do Not Attempt Resuscitation) with the family member of a patient she has never met.

With an overwhelming need to get home to check on the welfare of her friend, she already has a difficult night ahead of her. With no support from her colleague, she is forced to face the task alone.

This two-hander stars the show’s writer, Mo Maka, as Dr Nneka alongside AJ Samuel as Stephanie. The minimal set works well for the production, keeping the focus on the two women and the difficult conversation unfolding between them.

When we first meet Dr Nneka, she’s clearly under immense pressure. Distracted by worries in her personal life and anxious about the task ahead, she’s already carrying an emotional weight before the difficult conversation even begins. Phone calls help us understand more about what is happening in her life and who she is so anxious to check on.

These phone conversations are effective in setting the scene and driving the play forward. However, at times it was a little difficult to make out what was being said.

We learn that she is on her first shift as an “on-call FY1”, meaning she is responsible for carrying out this difficult conversation despite having no one available to guide her through it.

Maka captures the emotional struggle and inexperience of her character well.

Her attempt to convince the patient’s granddaughter is an awkward one, and that discomfort only increases as the play progresses. The conversation builds to a tense and, at times, harsh conclusion as Dr Nneka desperately tries to explain why allowing the patient to pass peacefully would be more favourable than attempting further intervention. Her explanation that CPR is not a suitable option given the patient’s age and overall condition repeatedly falls on deaf ears.

The patient’s granddaughter, Stephanie, is a determined woman who cannot understand why her grandfather should not be given every possible chance of survival.

Her attempts to use ChatGPT to support her argument are handled well by Dr Nneka, who carefully explains why the situation is not as straightforward as Stephanie believes. To Stephanie, it is simple: he deserves the chance to live, so every possible option should be explored. To Dr Nneka, CPR does not guarantee survival and could result in unnecessary suffering for the patient.

The two women are clearly at odds throughout, making it a real struggle for Dr Nneka to reach any form of agreement. Eventually, she turns to football as a way of explaining the situation in terms Stephanie can better relate to.

Both actors bring a strong understanding of their characters and effectively portray their differing opinions. The writing also balances the darker themes of the plot with moments of humour throughout.

With Dr Nneka’s patience wearing thin, she eventually snaps, and the atmosphere in the room  shifts. Any sense of understanding for the patient’s loved one disappears as frustration takes over. It is a severe change in tone, and you could sense the audience being taken aback by her words.

The play’s twist is not entirely unexpected, and while it does shift the perspective of the story, I don’t feel it had the emotional impact it could have had. It does provide insight into the pressures Dr Nneka has been carrying and allows both characters to finally see each other’s point of view.

The initial conversation between Stephanie and Dr Nneka is engaging and establishes the conflict well. However, as the play progresses, the momentum slows, making the emotional end feel less impactful than it could have been.

Overall, Do Not Attempt This Conversation is an important piece of writing that explores the challenges of communicating end-of-life care with families and the emotional impact these conversations can have on everyone involved. While pacing issues prevent it from achieving the emotional impact it could have, there are some strong ideas at its core that further development could help take to the next level.

Darkly funny, thought-provoking and relevant — Do Not Attempt This Conversation runs at Edinburgh Fringe from 24th to 29th August.