Lifeline, written by Robin Hiley and Becky Hope-Palmer, was staged at the Southwark Playhouse from 28 march - 2 May 2026. This was the musical’s London premiere: fresh from a debut run off-Broadway, and after making history as the first musical to ever perform at the United Nations.
Championed by a former chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies , Lifeline is both a musical following Alexander Fleming’s discovery of the first antibiotic and a warning about the threat of superbugs in the present day. It tells the story of antibiotics and highlights the major threat of antimicrobial resistance through two personal stories; one set in Alexander Fleming’s day and the other in modern times. The show was unusual in that it combined a professional cast with a chorus of amateur singers (selected through auditions), all of whom work in science and/or healthcare . At the end of the show, all 12 chorus members, who have been playing the part of hospital staff, stepped out in turn to introduce their real selves. Some were directly involved in antimicrobial research or treating resistant infections while others worked in different fields of healthcare.
Dr Lucy Handscomb wrote,
From 13th-18th April, I was lucky enough to perform on stage at the Southwark Playhouse in the chorus of Lifeline, As the only audiologist in the cast, I was able to link back to the show at the very end by talking about increasing accessibility to the joy of live performance.
The Guardian wrote,
“The subject of Lifeline, an energetic, imaginative stage account of the life of the father of penicillin, Alexander Fleming, with a modern love story and a Greek chorus of real scientists, provides a clue. This unlikely show tells the story of one of medicine’s most pressing crises: antimicrobial resistance and the deadly global threat of drug-resistant infections or superbugs.”
You can read the full Guardian article here.
