This Might Not Be It - by Sophia Chetin-Leuner (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Jay's new. He's just started as a temp in NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. He arrives with little more than a fledgling desk plant and well-meaning plans to change the broken system. Angela's been working here for over thirty years and nothing seems to faze her - except Jay.

Exhausted and worn down by archaic protocol, Jay starts bending the rules in a desperate attempt to help their patients. But when professional boundaries are crossed and trust is shattered, he discovers the harsh reality of what's truly at stake.

Sophia Chetin-Leuner's play This Might Not Be It is a candid portrayal of human lives at the mercy of our crumbling NHS. The play was longlisted for the Verity Bargate Award and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Playwriting. It was premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2023, directed by Ed Madden and produced by Broccoli Arts and Jessie Anand Productions.

Review Quotes

"The beauty of this piece is that it speaks in a universal language about the way people find ways of co-existing in an office where space is tight and time is short." --The Times

"Intriguing and immensely engaging." --Guardian

"Timely and compelling... the characters are startlingly vivid, filled with hopes, flaws and intriguing contradictions." --The Stage

"Affecting, with much to admire." --Telegraph

"A mirror to our times, forcing an audience to choose whether they will care for others in a system that actively dehumanises them or whether they will fight for a better tomorrow... The play has a wonderful flow to it... expertly renders the characters with a truthful relatability." --Reviews Hub

"Strikingly honest and human... beautifully layered... writing of wonderful precision, insight and perspective." --West End Best Friend

"A devastatingly accurate vision of the NHS's crumbling mental health service." --London Theatre

"An honest look into the every day of NHS mental health workers that starkly lays bare the failings of a collapsing healthcare system." --The Upcoming

About the Author

Sophia Chetin-Leuner is a writer for theatre, TV and film.

Her plays include This Might Not Be It (Bush Theatre, London, 2024) and Save + Quit (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2016; VAULT Festival, 2017). She has had short plays produced at HighTide Festival, the Park Theatre, the Etcetera Theatre and The Cockpit.