Human Story Theatre (HST) have been around since 2016, and I’m pretty sure I have been a fan of their work for most of that decade, having been fortunate enough to have seen most of their output. On the flipside, my knowledge of Warneford is limited to the fact that it’s a hospital in Oxford (what can I say – despite living in the Shire for about 20 years, I cannot be classed as a local).

After tonight’s performance and Q&A session I feel I know a great deal more about the mental health institution than I did. Celebrating 200 years since it opened in 1826, Within These Walls is one of many events taking place throughout 2026, marking the milestone anniversary of the psychiatric inpatient unit.

Written by Janet Bolam (with contributions from psychodrama psychotherapist Gillie Ruscombe-King) the ‘mosaic’ play is an extraordinary collection of alternating storylines of the lives of patients and staff spanning the hospital’s tenure. Bolam was part of the Q&A panel (a standard part of HST productions) after the show and her excitement at being commissioned to write such a play, based on the real-life stories from the verdant Warneford archive, was evident as she spoke.

While the writing is fantastic, it is, as Bolam herself stated (and I am paraphrasing here), really just the starting point for the production. The stories are very much brought to life by Anna Tolputt’s direction and the incredible performances from the cast of four. Tolputt already has a long-standing relationship with HST having previously directed a couple of their productions (Happy Even After and DRY – one of my favourite shows from the past few years), and her wealth of experience (aside from HST collabs) and talent is clear in the cleverly interwoven performances witnessed on this opening night of the nearly three week run (23^rd June to 4^th July at Warneford’s former Chapel followed by a two night stint at the fabulous Old Fire Station on George Street in Oxford – 10^th to 12^th July).

The cast are genuinely in another realm to any show I have seen recently. Each playing several characters, patients and carers, they fluidly move through the different ages and styles of treatment for mental health with ease, and great deal of compassion and emotion. Oriana Buckland’s heartbreaking portrayal of Lucy Osborne (a real patient) and her time in the institution in the 1800s is played out alongside Ian Gain’s manic, energetic and wholly believable portrayal of modern-day ‘Stu’. While these characters may represent very different eras, the interaction between them felt natural and achingly real, which is not only kudos to the writing and direction, but highlights the incredible talent of the actors.

The ensemble is completed by Amantha Edmead and Mason Chandler-Wickens, who deliver profoundly moving performances as the patients (and carers) they portray. Their equally versatile way of seamlessly transitioning between multiple roles creates the compelling illusion of a much larger cast, masking the fact that the entire production is executed by only four actors.

And I must mention the venue. Written specifically for Warneford Hospital, the site-specific drama gains an added layer of depth by being staged in the facility's former chapel. The compact space functions as an eerie acoustic and visual echo, anchoring the drama in the real-world history of the location.

I cannot recommend this production enough – it really is an important piece of art showcasing our changing attitudes to mental health and rehabilitation (as well as those things that have not changed), but in the most accessible and entertaining way. While it may not sound like a barrel of laughs, as Anna Tolputt writes so eloquently in a blog post on the warneford200.co.uk website: “ Despite the bleakness of the setting and the stories within it, there is sense of human spirit in the darkness, a connection. Jokes can be made in the middle of the most horrendous suffering.” Added to these somewhat lighter moments dotted throughout, the show ends with a joyous, uplifting song (performed live on stage by the cast) which is almost worth the ticket price alone.