Zoe Chapman on The Doctor Will See You Now at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre
After the success of our 2025 Camden Fringe Interviews, we thought it only right to attempt a repeat for 2026. So throughout July we’ll be publishing new interviews each day to give a taste of what to expect from London’s best fringe theatre festival. The festival starts Monday 3 August this year, so we may give ourselves a couple of days off inbetween the end of the interviews and the first shows… then again, we might not.
You can find out more about Camden Fringe, along with details of every show playing this August here. You can also find all of this year’s interviews as they are published here.
We have all been there: sitting on a squeaky plastic chair under buzzing fluorescent lights, watching the clock tick backwards, feeling like time and reality have lost all meaning. But for the characters in The Doctor Will See You Now, this waiting room purgatory isn’t just a minor administrative nuisance, it is the catalyst for a total descent into chaos.
Coming to The Lion & Unicorn Theatre this August for Camden Fringe 2026, this razor-sharp, dark comedy takes an unblinking look at what happens when the veneer of medical order is completely stripped away. Written by Zoe Chapman and starring Mary Benton, the production transforms systemic healthcare exhaustion into high-stakes, cathartic comedy.
We sat down with Zoe and Mary to discuss turning real-world medical gaslighting into theatrical material, the surprising physical choices of her cast, and how a dartboard decided the fate of the NHS queue.
If you had to describe the vibe of your show in just one sentence, what would it be and how does it manifest on stage?
Lord of the Flies meets your local inefficient hospital. The waiting room feels like a liminal space where the perception of time and reality is distorted; in this purgatory, the patients push the boundaries of their environment, testing if there are even any consequences to their actions as the once orderly hospital descends into chaos and anarchy.
Why is 2026 the absolute perfect time for this show to be seen?
Currently, 7 out of 10 NHS patients struggle to get a GP appointment, and 3 out of 5 deal with delays in A&E care. The Department of Health & Social Care reported that “for some, this frustration is so great that their belief that the NHS is there for them as a safety net is being undermined”. While our play may not be able to solve a global healthcare crisis, for an hour, we promise, you won’t be alone. You will not feel scared and powerless. And if the NHS can’t be our safety net, then it has to be each other.
What was the ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
I had to turn in a single form. And after being sent back and forth between the same two receptionists, unknowingly turning me into a ping pong ball, I hit my breaking point. I needed somewhere to put all my rage. I needed people to acknowledge the ridiculousness of it all. It has been a great help as a chronically ill writer; now, whenever I visit the hospital, I just think of it as gathering material.
What is something a performer has brought to a character that completely surprised you?
To be honest, all the performers have shaped their characters in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Lee Hatsumi-Mayer, quite literally, is Evan. In rewriting the play, it was impossible not to hear his voice writing his lines through me. Leo Lai has brought such amazing physical comedy to Li Jun; it is exciting to see how his character has developed through body language and physicality. Last time, he completely shocked me by taking a bite out of a prop and chewing it! But now we keep backups.
What is it about your character that you most enjoy?
I like how earnest Julia is. Sometimes, it takes her an extra second to get there, but she will get there. She has an innocence to her where her reactions are very genuine. It’s really fun, I enjoy playing a character who is so trusting and open, and she expects and sees the good in others. I mean, she has her beef with Evan, but I think that’s just her nervousness about having a son coming out in a weird way. That waiting room brings out the worst in everyone. There is something sinister about that place.
What’s the weirdest or most unconventional prop used in your show, and how did it come to be part of the production?
It is hard to pick. There is the authentic urine test cup and the bedazzled pillow with googly eyes, but it is probably the dart board with the patient’s faces stuck to it as a means of deciding whose appointment is next. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how appointments are actually called. It feels as arbitrary as that sometimes.
Write a one-sentence “fake” review of the show from your grandmother/pet/high school teacher.
“If you don’t find this funny, then you have a pretty nice life, don’t ya?” – Zoe’s Little Sister
What does “success” look like for you this August, beyond just selling tickets?
Success looks like even one person choosing to laugh instead of yell or cry next time they are frustrated by the bureaucracy of an underfunded healthcare system. That is what this play brought me: solace in community and catharsis in comedy, and if the audience can take that with them, then the show has been a success.
Many thanks to Zoe for taking the time to chat. The Doctor Will See You Now plays at Lion and Unicorn Theatre from Thursday 13 to Saturday 15 August as part of Camden Fringe.
