Quiz by James Graham
Tuesday 3rd to Saturday 7th March 2026 @ 7.30pm & 2.30pm Saturday Matinee
Visit our 'What's On' page to buy tickets.

This March, James Graham’s Quiz arrives at the Old Fire Station (3–7 March 2026), bringing with it one of the most gripping, surprising and hotly debated true stories in modern British pop culture. Most of us think we remember the tale: Major Charles Ingram, a bright-lit studio, a suspiciously helpful cough and a million‑pound prize that slipped away as fast as it was won. But Quiz invites us to look again – and to look closer.

In this lively, fast‑paced and deeply human play, Graham turns the story on its head, giving us first the perspective of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? producers convinced they’ve caught a cheat, and then the Ingrams’ own version of events – a version in which they’re not con artists, but socially awkward super‑fans caught in a media firestorm. With wit, theatrical flair and a cast playing a whirlwind of characters, the show asks the audience to reconsider what they think they know. Were the Ingrams guilty masterminds… or innocent victims of a narrative written by others?

To tell us more about what to expect – and why this story still grips us today – we spoke with Jessica Reilly and Alistair Nunn, co‑directors of the production, who shared their insights on the surprises, humour and humanity at the heart of Quiz.

As with the original game show, the final verdict rests where it always belonged: with the audience.

What’s the play about?

The play is about Charles Ingram and the infamous Who Wants to be a Millionaire coughing scandal. We all think we know the story: a bumbling army major cheating his way to a million through strategic coughs. But this fast-paced, funny and heartfelt show unpacks all that by telling the story from two perspectives: first the perspective of the TV producers, who think they’ve caught a pair of cheats; then from the Ingrams, who might just be innocent victims trying to entertain the viewing audience. Are they guilty or innocent? Just like the original show, this play will ‘Ask the audience’ to decide!

What do you think is the first thing people think of about this story, and how might this play surprise them?

The first thing everyone knows about this story is probably that memory of an awkward, polo-shirt wearing man, listening to a load of really obvious coughs in the audience guiding him towards the right answer.

But there is a lot more to this story than that. Very few people know who the Ingrams actually are, and this play is really about exploring that. We’ll hear both sides of the story. The part people have seen on TV – the edited TV show, made by the people who wanted to prove the Ingrams were guilty – is balanced with exploring the lives of two socially awkward people who claim they just wanted to entertain the public. We’re sure lots of people will come into the show expecting to know everything – and we hope people will have these ideas challenged!

How would you describe the experience of this show to someone who only knows the headline version of events?

Every story has two sides, and what looks like absolute cast-iron proof of guilt from one perspective, might just be a complete flukey accident from another. Audiences will not only find out about the high-stakes world of building a successful quiz show, finding a winning format to conquer the ratings war; they’ll also find out the terrible pressure of being tried in the court of public opinion, where your dream of appearing on your favourite TV show turns into a nightmare that takes over your life.

Where does the fun come from in this production, even while dealing with such high stakes?

Quiz is fast-paced, funny and full of entertainment. Our brilliant cast play a host of different characters – from ambitious TV producers, to bombastic army officers, to excited journalists, to quizzing fanatics – and scenes move quickly from location to location. James Graham has written a play packed with funny lines, but he’s also made characters who we really care about.

If you love Who Wants to be a Millionaire – or several other classic game shows – you’ll get to see some spot-on recreations of scenes from the original show, told with real theatrical invention.

What’s really unique though about Quiz is that it really does ask the audience to make up their own minds. The story is told through the framework of the Ingrams trial, with the audience as ‘the jury’. They’ll hear the arguments from the lawyers, they’ll ‘see the evidence’ and at the end they’ll be asked to vote on a ’50:50’ – guilty or innocent?

The play also gives us an inside look at how a television programme is made. What does theatre allow you to reveal about that process?

Just how cut-throat it is! The first half of the play looks at how an idea for a show moves to the screen, and it is stressful! For the producers of the show, it is their baby: they’ve had to invent it, defend it against executives who think it’s a terrible idea (one contestant, who can see all the answers and take as long as they want to answer – as one executive says, on paper it sounds like a really boring show!) and then they have to throw all their effort into making it work and become a hit. No wonder they feel really defensive about it!

A play lets us go behind and in front of the scenes at the same time: to ‘watch’ the show going out on TV, and also sit with the producers behind-the-scenes making the decisions that make the show what it is: deciding what shots we see, guiding us towards what they want us to feel. It’s really interesting and not a perspective you see very often.

What has surprised you most about the play since rehearsals began?

How many people think they know everything there is to know about this story. One of the best things about Quiz is that it will not only entertain you, but it will also really make you question what you believe: and give you a chance to think about things from the Ingrams perspective, whether you think they are guilty or innocent.

In one sentence, what would you say to persuade someone who thinks they already know this story to come and see this version?

Every story is far more complex than you think it is, so come and find out the part of the story you’ve not heard!