Based in Bristol in the South West of England, Theatre West is one of the UK’s foremost new writing theatre companies. The company focuses on working with writers, providing support in various ways to help them develop both their work and their craft. In the past 30 years they have produced almost 150 new plays, from simple ten minute curtain raisers to ambitious full length pieces. In 2024 the company was made one of only four Associate Companies of Bristol Old Vic (one of the most famous theatres in the UK), recognising it as an “iconic” part of the region’s cultural landscape.

2025 marked Theatre West’s 35th anniversary and as a celebration of this milestone they reimagined the first new play they ever produced, Holding Hands with Angels. First produced in 1997, it was the first play written by Mike Akers, now a nationally renowned playwright, and Mike has revisited his script bringing it bang up to date for today's audiences. This renewed version of Holding Hands with Angels is directed and designed by the company’s Joint Artistic Directors, Alison Comley and Ann Stiddard, and performed in English by professional actors Paul Mohan, Tim Prior, and Mike Akers.

Holding Hands with Angels is a tense and gripping drama set in the hours following an audacious robbery. Two anonymous criminals wait in a safe house for further orders from their gangland superiors, with only a big bag of cash for the company. As the night passes and the whiskey flows, paranoia, superstition and the possibility of glimpsing the angel of death threatens to undo their fledgling alliance.

Theatre West has a long-standing relationship with Latvia, first visiting in 1996 and subsequently touring the country several times. These tours have been extensive, visiting cities such as Liepaja, Jelgava and Valmiera through to smaller towns like Jekabpils, Gulbene and Kuldiga. In early February, the company will visit Riga, performing at ĢIT.