Review: NIGHT CITY, Southwark Playhouse
Photo credit: Lidia Crisafulli
Night City, a new play by Max Wilkinson, directed by Ebenezer Bamgboye, is a well-crafted three-hander uncovering the darker truths behind the gig economy and the ways people can be taken advantage of. In a system sold to us as empowering and flexible, those relying on it can find themselves with little control at all. Burnout, reduced safety standards and an unsustainable work culture are hidden behind the convenience we have all come to rely on. We order the food, take the ride and use the services, but who are the people making it all possible?
Each actor plays a key character while rapidly morphing into others to fill the unfiltered city of London around them. Jack Ambrose plays Jack, a driver for a shady company; Bex Smith plays Tia, a young woman fresh from a small town with romantic ideas of becoming a writer while working as a waitress; and Helena Pipe plays Tamara, a care worker who loves her job and the people she meets but is being controlled and squeezed for the sake of corporate profit. As their stories unfold, each character finds a connection to the others, gradually revealing how these different experiences of the city are linked. There is also a slight hint of magic realism running through the work, adding another layer to the otherwise grounded world of London and heightening the sense that these seemingly separate lives are connected. A highlight is Smith’s eccentric secondary character, Gigi, a wealthy older woman who brings plenty of personality and gets the laughs, but also has a depth that perhaps demonstrates the one person with enough power to actually listen.
Under Bamgboye’s direction and Rose Ryan’s movement direction, the work finds a highly physical style to dance with the text and all three performers brilliantly embody this convention very well, never lingering too long in a moment so the story can jump-cut to the next scene. Playing with different tempos and scales of movement, the production explores the inner and outer lived experience of their world.
David Lewington’s sound design, full of bass and electronic melodies, fuels the action, while the black-box thrust stage is transformed by hanging chains, sometimes illuminated, creating a maze for the characters to travel through. Projections occasionally appear on the back wall, although those sitting at the side of the stage may miss them, particularly some of the more atmospheric designs.
The play picks up its groove as it travels and becomes a ride through London, moving between the lives of people who are often invisible within it. The production has a strong and committed ensemble, creating a vivid portrait of a city that never stops moving. There is a lot packed into Night City, and perhaps a little more could have been taken off the meter towards the end. But the production is a timely story that asks us to look beyond the convenience of the services we use every day and consider the people who make them possible. It is a compelling reminder that behind every delivery, ride and service is a person trying to survive the same city we are all moving through.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Stephanie Osztreicher
Night City plays at London’s Southwark Playhouse Borough until 3 Oct, with further info here.
