By Grace Hatchell
There are certain letters that land in Grace Hatchell’s satchel with a little more weight than usual. Not because they’re heavy, mind you, but because you can tell there’s a story tucked inside. And this week’s delivery comes from Open Aire Theatre with news of their acclaimed production Managed Approach heading to Riverside Studios in Hammersmith this April.
Grace gave a little smile when this one arrived. Theatre Village first caught Managed Approach at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, and it’s always a pleasure to see a show continue its journey beyond the festival. The Fringe is full of brave, ambitious work, but only some productions manage to carry that momentum forward. When they do, it feels a little like watching a show grow up in front of your eyes.
Managed Approach is a new semi-verbatim play exploring the story of the UK’s first legalised red-light district.
The production received five-star reviews at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, secured Keep It Fringe funding, and was shortlisted for the Pleasance Charlie Hartill Award. Now Open Aire Theatre brings the production to London audiences for a limited run at Riverside Studios from 13 to 25 April 2026.
The play takes its name from a controversial local government initiative that allowed sex workers to operate within designated hours in Holbeck, Leeds between 2014 and 2020. Through the complicated relationship between a mother and daughter, Managed Approach examines the divided reactions within the community to the scheme.
Interwoven throughout the drama are verbatim monologues drawn from interviews with sex workers who experienced the policy first-hand. Their voices sit alongside the fictional storyline, grounding the play in real testimony while giving space to the human stories behind the headlines.
Grace, who has seen her fair share of Fringe shows over the years, always perks up when a production arrives with strong word of mouth from Edinburgh. The Fringe can be a chaotic proving ground for new work, so when something gathers five-star reviews and award nominations there, it tends to mean the piece has struck a nerve somewhere.
Writer and co-lead Jules Coyle conducted the interviews that helped shape the play, ensuring the perspectives of those most directly affected by the initiative were heard. The result is a piece that acts as Coyle’s love letter to her hometown of Leeds and to the resilient Northern women who live there.
Theatre Village reviewed this show at Edinburgh Fringe in 2025 ‘ Managed Approach succeeds in what it sets out to do, to provoke thought, and to shine a light on voices that are too often unheard’.
Managed Approach will run at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London, from 13–25 April 2026.
The official press night will take place on Friday 17 April at 21:00.
https://riversidestudios.co.uk/whats-on/Mk-managed-approach
Cast
Abbie (Daughter)
Kate (Mother)
Sara/Tara (Verbatim)
Ellen/Dani (Verbatim)
Production Team
Writer: Jules Coyle (she/her)
Director: Eanna Ferguson (she/they)
Producer: Áine McNamara (she/her)
Assistant Director: H Sneyd (they/them)
Associate Directors: Lily Ellis (she/they), Max Saunderson (she/her), Arianna Muñoz (she/her), Flo Winkley (she/her), Neve Kennedy (she/her)
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