Review: Night City (Southwark Playhouse Borough)
Review by Phil McCullough
⭐️⭐️
London is one of the great cities of the world, with countless untold stories and private lives that sometimes intersect to create real change. Night City is an autobiographical story that explores what it is like to work as part of the gig economy, opening a window onto true tales from the big smoke. With writer Max Wilkinson being so close to the source material, does this production really shine an authentic light on what it is like to work in low-paid, undervalued jobs in the city? Do these stories strike a chord with a modern audience and hold up a mirror to what it is like to struggle in the capital?
Night City is a new drama that follows various characters working in the gig economy. There is hedonistic taxi driver Jack, waitress Tia, who has big dreams, and carer Tamara, who looks after a rich and entitled elderly lady, Gigi. Their lives intersect because the respective businesses they work for are owned by gig economy guru Felix, who favours profit over people. The new play is written by award-winning writer Max Wilkinson, who previously wrote the critically acclaimed Rainer, performed at Areola Outside.
As the three main stories begin to evolve through late night London, more and more characters are introduced. With only three actors playing all the roles, this often becomes confusing. For instance, Felix is signposted by his baseball cap, yet two different actors play Felix in different scenes. Wilkinson’s writing feels fractured and messy, with scenes often being so short that, rather than leaving you wanting more, you can feel short-changed by what you have just seen. It is frustrating because the actors start to get into the drama and dynamic of a particular relationship, only for the action to suddenly switch into a comedy scene moments later. The writing style feels far more suited to a fast-paced TV drama, where a few visual shots can establish a huge amount and short, punchy scenes can work brilliantly. On stage, however, Wilkinson does not always use the medium of theatre to his advantage. Longer scenes with more depth would have allowed us to understand the characters better and explore their psychology rather than constantly jumping between different situations.
The production is very intimate, with chains suspended from the ceiling across the performance space, creating a maze-like effect for the actors to move through. Ebenezer Bamgboye’s direction makes some bold choices, with a lot of physical movement through the maze and around its perimeter. However, it does not always work and often becomes distracting rather than dramatic. During one scene, when Tamara confronts her son at home, he circles around the outside of the chains while Tamara speaks directly out towards the audience. At the same time, the third actor repeatedly pokes Tamara around her body. The incessant poking becomes such a distraction that it takes away from what should be an emotionally important scene. This physical device is used throughout the production and often distracts from the main action creating a disconnect with the characters.
Jack Ambrose plays Jack, the hedonistic cab driver working nights, and his performance often feels too much. If you start at factor ten with unbridled emotion, screaming and shouting, where is there left to go later in the show? Ambrose also plays the entitled corporate Felix and, in one of the final scenes, that same unbridled emotion is unleashed. In that moment it becomes difficult to distinguish between Jack and Felix, particularly when both characters are played at such a high level of intensity. Bex Smith plays Tia amongst other characters, but she excels most when playing elderly heiress Gigi. Smith manages to make this privileged and unlikeable woman surprisingly sympathetic at times, and you find yourself feeling for her. Helena Pipe is believable as Tamara, Gigi’s carer, and the relationship between the two was one of the stronger elements of the production.
David Lewington’s sound design helps create an unsettling atmosphere throughout and is one of the better aspects of the show. Some contemporary classical tracks are used to good effect, with Helena Pipe’s vocals being a particular highlight of the evening. Pipe sings short sections of The Cranberries’ ‘Dreams’ and Carole King’s ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’, although I would have liked to have heard more of both tracks.
Overall, Night City feels messy, with too many characters, short scenes and not enough depth. There is far too much physicality and not enough stillness, and I feel that allowing the actors to stay in the moment for longer would have helped many of the scenes work far better. There are some interesting points about the way low-paid gig economy workers are treated, and the production clearly has something to say about the realities of life in London. At times, though, it feels a little clichéd, without enough nuance or depth to really make these ideas hit home. The stories are there, but I wanted more time with the characters and more space for the drama to breathe.
Night City plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 3rd October. Tickets from https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/night-city/
Photos by Lidia Crisafulli