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The Worst Possible Nice Thing

 
Poppy Bilderbeck Review by Poppy Bilderbeck 3 Published: 29 Jun 2026 The Hope Theatre Show Dates: 22 Jun 2026-24 Jun 2026

It’s one of the hottest days of the year – 34C to be exact – and the Hope Theatre’s upstairs room with no air conditioning in sight, bodies crammed into every possible corner surrounding a thrust stage, would be a challenge to even those who starred in Dune. A few fans have been haphazardly popped up and each audience member given a handheld fan. I mentally salute the actors of The Worst Possible Nice Thing before they’ve even stepped on stage. The stage appears like a town hall and the appearance of the rear of an elderly congregation singing so out of pitch (deliberately, I should add) temporarily rids the audience of the discomfort from the beads of sweat already dripping down our backs. Anyway, enough about the temperature. The congregation comes to a grateful end, shuffles on out, and we’re left on tenterhooks for a burst of energy – the play is set in anticipation of a party after all.

Soared in the moments of shared vulnerability

Mark (Theo Burns) has brought together friends Simon (Conor O’Cuinn), Anthony (George Wood), Kate (India Richardson), Patricia (Sienna Galea Tudor), Johanna (Lola Spiteri) and Scott (Tom Homer) – also joined by Scott’s niece Jenny (Ellie Freeman) – in a bid to put on a surprise party in their local Midlands church hall for their grieving friend Heather. Armed with cassette tapes, cigarettes and beer, the small-town group of friends come together in a bid to lift Heather’s spirits, but ultimately, along the way, get so caught up in trying to do the right – or should I say "good" – thing, they get a bit lost in supporting the person as best as they could.

The well-intentioned, albeit slightly self-absorbed teens transport us back into our own adolescences – the gossip, the drama, and of course young love. The Worst Possible Nice Thing is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, but also raises important questions around small-town mentality, queerness, and the emotional repression of a Thatcherite Britain – not just provoking a sigh of commiseration in solidarity with those affected by that era, but also packing more of a punch when considered a warning, given how many small towns haven’t progressed much since.

The Worst Possible Nice Thing, part of BokFest 2026, soared in the moments of shared vulnerability between the characters – but also the cast. The moments in the script where they were pulled back together again to support one another saw the actors at their strongest as an ensemble, truly acknowledging the power of scriptwriter Homer’s writing (who, yes, also played Scott and Mr Whitbey) and letting it breathe – the speed, delivery, and energy of the moments working in harmony.

This allowing of space for thoughts and painting the picture of the script was crafted beautifully during a monologue performed by Conor O’Cuinn. It was gloriously undercut with light relief from Ellie Freeman’s portrayal of Jenny, with Freeman’s comedic timing proving impeccable. The sound design was also excellent at ramping up moments of tension – it would have been nice to see more ebbs and flows of speed and variations of intonation given the at-times wordiness of the script. Although, have I ever performed a play in 34C heat? No, so who am I to talk.

The Worst Possible Nice Thing may not have quite hung, drawn and quartered them, but it certainly pulled at my heartstrings and transported me away from a London pub theatre for an hour. It made stark the loneliness many of us feel even if surrounded by a room of people and was a nice time-travel back into the carnival of chaos that was many of our teenage years, prompting questions of how we want to be remembered, what matters most in this silly little thing we call life and to just bloody go for it while we still can, not being scared to lean on those around us for support.

Amir Nisi

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck grew up popping CD after CD into the player of her mum's rickety, old, green BMW, the pair belting along to hits from 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' to ballads from 'Salad Days'. When not perfecting that Billy Flynn note in 'We Both Reached For the Gun,' Poppy is a freelance journalist with words in The Times, Cosmopolitan UK, LADbible, UNILAD, Tyla, FOODbible and the Daily Express. And when not sat down watching the latest show or writing about it, you can sometimes find her on-stage herself, performing spoken word poetry.

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The Blurb:

“I don’t mind being alone, I just don’t want to become easy to forget. That feels too close to being gone…”In a faded Midlands church hall, a group of friends throw a surprise party for their grieving friend Heather. What begins as Mark’s well-meaning attempt to lift her spirits quickly collapses into laughter, rows and secrets.  Funny, tender and unflinching, this sharp new play captures the ache of small-town life: the fear of being forgotten, the mess of first love, the weight of grief, and the desperate urge to escape a place that keeps trying to shrink you. It asks how we hold onto one another when the world tries to pull us apart.Set against the final years of Thatcher’s Britain, a time of cassette tapes and Walkman, these young people on the cusp of adulthood confront who they are, who they love, and what kind of future they dare to claim in a town that punishes difference.With characters that feel like your own mates, come for the laughs Stay because it reminds you why we still show up for each other, even when it's hard.It’s the worst possible nice thing you’ll see this yearPart of BokFest 2026Running time: Approximately 65 minutesLATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED.UNDER 18s ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO THE THEATRE FOR THIS PERFORMANCE.No re-admittance once the performance has commenced. Refunds and exchanges are not available.
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