The Bakehouse Theatre, Blackheath
The Bakehouse Theatre, Blackheath
Ambiguous Proposition
Starring Hilary Cordery
Written by Shona Newmark
Ambiguous Proposition is a compelling one-woman play that explores one of the most complex and divisive issues of our time – allegations of workplace sexual harassment. Written by employment lawyer Shona Newmark, the play draws on decades of professional experience handling real-life harassment cases to present a thought-provoking drama that challenges assumptions and encourages audiences to examine the evidence for themselves.
Performed with remarkable emotional depth by Hilary Cordery, the story unfolds through the eyes of a mother, also an Employment Tribunal Judge, whose son is accused of sexual harassment. As her carefully ordered life begins to unravel, she struggles to reconcile her love for her son with her knowledge of how harassment cases play out and the devastating impact the allegations have on everyone involved. What begins as a deeply personal story soon becomes a wider examination of truth, perception and the lasting consequences of accusation.
The uncomfortable grey areas
In an age where public opinion often demands certainty, the play explores the uncomfortable grey areas that rarely receive the same attention.
This is not a traditional whodunnit. It is a powerful “What was done?”—a gripping exploration of workplace behaviour, context, memory and perspective. The play asks difficult questions about bullying, consent, interpretation and objective truth, while highlighting the ripple effects that allegations of misconduct can have on individuals, families and careers.
Powerful, intelligent and emotionally charged, Ambiguous Proposition is contemporary theatre at its most relevant—provocative, compassionate and guaranteed to leave audiences debating long after the final curtain.
First performed at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in August 2024, the play received a 5* star review (from David Kerr of Counter Culture), see below.
Show Details
RUNNING TIME:
1 hour 10 minutes
SPACE:
The Bakehouse Theatre
Bennett Park, Blackheath,
London SE3 9RA
Directions: Train to Blackheath Station (Zone 2/3 and 2 minutes’ walk to The Bakehouse Theatre)
Parking: Free on-street parking and in Blackheath Grove and Blackheath Station on Sundays
AGE RECC:
14 and over
CONTENT ADVICE
PLEASE NOTE: This show contains some strong language which may cause offence.
PERFORMANCE TIMES
Matinee: 5pm
Evening: 7.30pm
TICKET PRICES
Ticket: £18.50
Concession: £16.00 (Students and over 65)
Cast and Creatives
STARRING
Hilary Cordery
Hilary is an award winning actor and director. She has toured extensively and has a long-standing association with the Bromley Little Theatre (BLT), where she has served as an actor, director, and former Chair of the Board.
Key diverse acting roles include Jean Whittacker, the Parliamentary Secretary to a newly elected Blairite MP in James Graham’s Labour of Love, (for which she won Best Actress at the 2025 Kent Drama Association Festival), Helene Hanff in 84 Charing Cross Road, Mrs Higgins in Pygmalion, Carol in The Herd, Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, Lady Gay Spanker in London Assurance and Bev / Kathy in Clybourne Park, (for which Hilary also won Best Actress at the Kent Drama Association Festival in 2014)
As a director, she is known for tackling challenging contemporary dramas. Her key directing achievements include: The Son (Florian Zeller’s moving family drama for which Hilary won Best Play and Best Director at the 2026 Kent Drama Association Festival), Stuff Happens (David Hare’s political satire detailing the 2003 invasion of Iraq), Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors and Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire.
Hilary used to practise as an employment lawyer in her professional life and has worked on many cases similar to the one in Ambiguous Proposition.
WRITER
Shona Newmark
Shona is a former employment lawyer who has channelled her legal expertise into playwriting. She practised as an employment lawyer for over 30 years, most recently at law firm Jones Chase, before retiring last year. As a Senior Employment Solicitor and Partner, Shona advised on complex workplace disputes, discrimination, and misconduct allegations.
A highly topical, gripping contemporary drama, Ambiguous Proposition is drawn directly from Shona’s decades of legal experience of handling real-world sexual harassment cases. The play challenges audiences to examine their assumptions of concepts with which Shona worked regularly and which can be extremely difficult in practice, including workplace “banter” and bullying, and it presents a highly nuanced view of the accused party, again based on Shona’s experiences.
Shona has donated all her fees for this work to date to LawCare, a mental health charity for the legal sector.
PRODUCER
Abigail Moss
Abigail has several decades experience as a Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Income and Communications and Chief Operating Officer. She was also Director of Strategy for Children, Young People at Arts Council England for 9 years and a secondary school teacher and theatre performer, tour booker and administrator. She attended Cambridge University and trained at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.
Abigail toured internationally with classical theatre and site-specific productions throughout the 90’s and more recently has been in 7 short films and numerous stage productions, including as Paulina Escobar in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden and Queenie in Blackadder.
Alongside her work as a performer, Abigail is an experienced producer and fundraiser, bringing creativity, vision and meticulous attention to every project she undertakes.
Reviews
A thoughtful play on workplace conduct and personal dilemmas
“This thoughtful play raises issues of acceptable workplace conduct. There are lots of questions. Did Bradley really harass Chloë at the party? Was that why he said ‘sorry’ a lot in his meeting with HR? Did Chloë make a vexatious claim against him, blaming him for her not winning the promotion she sought?
“Should Margaret have remembered when her allegations of sexual harassment weren’t believed and looked at Chloë’s allegations more objectively? Did her love for her son and wish to protect him cause her to jettison all her professional standards? How would she have ruled in Bradley and Chloë’s case if he had not been her son? The answers are ambiguous. The audience is left wondering..”
TO READ THE FULL REVIEW PLEASE CLICK HERE