THEATRE PREVIEW
AUGUST 2026 | Volume 266
Mohit Mathur, photos by Deven Ahire.
Dial 1 for UK
by Mohit Mathur
Mohit Mathur/Disability Arts Collective
Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver
Sept. 24-27
From $20
www.phtheatre.org or 604-990-3474
BUY TICKETS
DIAL 1 FOR UK
Travel influencer fantasies meet harsh reality in Mohit Mathur's hilarious, sharp exploration of migration, far-right politics, and the dream of something more
Presentation House Theatre (PHT) is proud to partner with Toronto's The Disability Collective (TDC) to bring Mohit Mathur's Dial 1 for UK to North Vancouver, fresh from a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe and 35-city tour of the UK.
"Hello, this is David! How can I be of assistance?" Every night in New Delhi, tech-helpline worker Uday Kumar adopts a UK persona to answer customer calls for a British bitcoin company. When a chance opportunity lets him trade his headset for a boarding pass, he leaps at the adventure–but will life in the UK match his Youtube fantasies?
"Dial 1 for UK is a fast, witty and sharply observed tour-de-force that blends comedy with something more resonant," says PHT Artistic Director Keltie Forsyth on her choice to program the show. "A breakout hit from the Edinburgh Fringe, it moves with real pace and precision, drawing audiences into a story that is as funny as it is unexpectedly human. I was completely charmed by Mohit's performance and his presence, and I know you will be too."
Propelled by performer Mohit Mathur’s (Life of Pi) magnetic charisma and fast-paced humor, and directed by West End legend Phil Wilmott, this brilliant piece of storytelling showcases Mathur's charming, high-energy performance, balancing laugh-out-loud comedy with a poignant reality check.
"This show is set from a South Asian lens, a boy from India, but it speaks to the experience of any first-generation migrant chasing the dream of a new life somewhere else," says Mathur on the work. "It's for refugees, international students, anyone who has left home to build something new in another country, and even for those who've simply moved cities and felt that same displacement on a smaller scale."
This rich, beautifully human story of high hopes, digital illusions, and the quiet reality of navigating a new world speaks directly to increasing divisions and the current rise in far-right politics: "I'm genuinely curious how this show will resonate with audiences in Canada," says Mathur. "The themes, migration, the rise of far-right politics, are shared across the West and in India too, so in some ways the underlying problem is the same everywhere. But even within the UK, I've found this piece lands completely differently from city to city. Watching it meet a whole new country, with a different context and a different set of eyes, is something I'm genuinely excited to witness."
ABOUT MOHIT MATHUR:
Mohit Mathur is an actor, dancer and theatre maker from Delhi, India, now based in London, UK. He obtained his Masters in Acting from the Drama Centre London and has since built an international career spanning theatre, film and dance. He made his West End debut in 2015 as the lead in Beyond Bollywood at the London Palladium, later touring across multiple continents, and in 2022 returned to the West End in Max Webster's Life of Pi at Wyndham's Theatre before embarking on its international tour in 2024.
ABOUT PRESENTATION HOUSE THEATRE:
Nestled in the heart of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale, Presentation House Theatre is a home for the arts, a neighbourhood creative cultural centre providing the community with a dynamic mix of professional performing arts productions and programs — all just a Seabus away from downtown Vancouver. We are the North Shore's professional theatre company and home to the PHT Creative Hub. We proudly offer programming for children and youth, adults young and old.
ABOUT THE DISABILITY COLLECTIVE:
The Disability Collective (TDC) is the only fully disability-led multidisciplinary arts organization in Toronto. Dedicated to celebrating and showcasing work created solely by disabled artists, TDC strives to de-stigmatize disability and challenge perceptions of disability by providing disabled artists with paid opportunities to share their work in a variety of forms, along with actively advocating for and improving accessibility and inclusion in the Canadian arts community by providing disability consultation services. We are committed to strengthening the disability community's presence in the arts and creating a space where disabled artists can connect and grow their practices together.
CREATIVE TEAM
Written and Performed by Mohit Mathur
Directed by Phil Willmott
Assistant Director: Ralph Jefferys
Lighting Designer: Rachel Sampley
Set Designer: Caitlin Abbott
Associate Producer: Dan Sareen
Sound Designer: Ansuman Biswas
SHOW ADVISORY: Please note that this show contains references to racism, immigration-related trauma, and mental health struggles.
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