Night City post-show Q&A at Southwark Playhouse

Night City post-show Q&A at Southwark Playhouse

On his bus home one night after a late shift at a café, playwright Max Wilkinson passed the aftermath of a fatal road accident. He couldn’t shake the image of a delivery driver’s bike left in pieces on the Old Kent Road.

Six years later, a similar scene opens his new play Night City, a taut, funny and deeply human new drama about London’s invisible workforce.

In a series of intersecting, immersive monologues, Night City follows a taxi driver, a care worker and a waitress over the course of several months. Three lives tangled together in the city’s gig economy, navigating zero-hours contracts, rogue bosses, difficult choices and the daily grind of a London that needs them but threatens to “eat them up”.

Jack Ambrose, Helena Pipe and Bex Smith play undervalued, underpaid and overworked Jack, Tamara and Tia as well as a host of other colourful Londoners. Ebenezer Bamgboye directs the world premiere for Clarisse Makundul Productions.

Following Thursday’s performance, I was joined by Max, Ebenezer, the full cast and Sarmila Rose from the Work Rights Centre, a charity that advocates for workers who can’t otherwise afford legal help. She reminded us that many of the circumstances the play depicts are the daily reality for thousands across the city.

Amongst the other topics discussed: the company’s own experiences of job insecurity, the passage of the Employment Rights Act and the power of trade unions and collective action. We ended with images that capture the essence of London for each of us – with answers including hole-in-the-wall restaurants, baffling sculptures and the smell of Peckham Rye Tube station.

Night City runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 3 October 2026.

Q&A video

With thanks to Nina Studer.

Q&A photos

With thanks to Darren Ross.

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