"Wildfire Road" by Eve Leigh.

Nottingham Playhouse.

Part of the National Theatre Connections Festival 2026 by Nottingham Playhouse Presents, the other performances of this play are by Lambstail Youth Theatre on Monday and One Act Theatre Company on Tuesday.

The whole play takes place on a flight from London to Tokyo.  There’s a hijacker on board and the flight is re-directed to Siberia and in the process saving the lives of all 416 people on board, as the rest of the world is engulfed in a massive wildfire.  It’s a tale for the most important question of our times – are we going to wake up and address the climate emergency before it’s too late?

When you think of the title "hijacker", you automatically think that there's hurt, possible death, maybe political, but in this scenario the hijackers are actually trying to save lives by diverting the plane to a safe place, so this story is very different, but the people on the flight don't know that until the end of the play.

There are some wonderful characters in this play including Rohan whose mini monologues made me smile, and the couple who were on the flight because, as strangers they met for a spur of the moment jaunt to Tokyo, who, by the end of the play had actually managed to move the romance ladder, and again a clever and comical script for this pair. But there are several stories behind the travellers as to why they are on the plane and their back stories. Like every good play you'll always find s few characters that you gravitate to; I've mentioned three already.

The play is one for adults but this cast are students, and young students at that, but you forget their age after a while and they are just seen as "actors" on a stage. The script at times is adult with strong language and references, but very quickly, and to the actors' credits, they make you believe in the characters they play, which is something that every actor aims for, to make an audience believe in the character and not the actor.

This is one of those piece s of theatre where the main actors and the ensemble should be classed as one because they are all at the same level, they are all so good at what they want us to believe and see on stage character wise. Obviously many of the named characters we get to see more of but for me this was a true ensemble piece of theatre.

The cast are as follows....

Amelia Macdonald (Naomi), Ben Jackson (Dave), Maya Mansoor (Mariella), Isaac Littlewood (Rohan), Dahra Murchie O'Neill (Rina), Rosanna Sunney (Ruby), Fox Reeve (Bryn), Rubie Bonsall (Ema), Aether Ward (Kazuo), Bea Robinson (72A), Sara Ben Achour (62E), Lucy Riley (66D), Harley Knight (33E), Marcus Asher (61F), Kaitlyn Davies (28C), Mai Shevchenko (18F), Lucie Hallam (Hijacker & 66D), Attie Delve (Hijacker & 72B & 18F), Noah Harroe (Hijacker & 54E & 66E) and Tulip Barker (Hijacker & 14D & 57D).

The Ensemble are Esme Liddington, Ivy Mae Hamblin-Adams, Poppy Boud, Isaac Hopewell, Hollie Ashford, Larona Makanjuola, Molly Eaton, Cerys Cheadle, Emma Sangil and Milo Ramsay-Wilson.

Directed and Produced by Sarah West with Assistant Director being Niamh Woolley. The comedy in this play is delivered so well, and so naturally, in a way that many adult actors have problems with delivering as naturally as some of these actors can. The pace is perfect and the roll out of the story is executed so well which gives the audience that important light bulb moments at certain parts in the play.

Production Manager is Tony Topping.

The set design by Jinah Kim consist of quite a few chairs which are utilised really well by the cast to show the various sides of the plane including the flight deck and the plane seating layout from various angles.

Sound and Lighting, which also work very well to build tension leading up to the ending of the story, which I won't spoil for you, is by Eli Gayton.

The Hijackers are easily distinguished as they wear masks, which also provides that air of tension and mystery. the masks are designed by Nova Squire.

Deputy Stage Manager is Eli Gayton and Assistant Stage Manager is Bethan Wakefield, ensuring the smoothness of the changes of the set design.

There's a wonderful group of sections which involve all of the actors performing in slow motion which was particularly effective, especially with the chairs in one particular scene. Acro Consultant for this area of the play is Duncan Cosgrave. This area also highlights how well the cast work with pace as an ensemble to create an effect.

Wherever possible I really enjoy seeing new plays and new casts, especially when the cast members are just starting out on the acting journeys, and I am so pleased that a friend of mine drew my attention to this particular piece of theatre where the opinion that you have at the start is completely different to how the story ends.

"Wildfire Road" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Tuesday 14 April with different theatre groups.