INTERVIEW: Max Wilkinson - Night City (Southwark Playhouse Borough)
Could you tell us a bit more about who you are and what Night City is all about?
Night City is an epic new drama exploring the hilarious highs and devastating lows of the gig economy.
Meet Jack Stelilitz, driving for GoGo cars, fuelled by cheap speed and stars from the GoGo app, and only living for himself. That is until he meets Riva, a waitress and budding writer, determined to turn London into the city of her dreams. And Tamara, a carer, whose wealthy new client’s son throws all three into the heart of a political storm they never forget. But at its heart it’s about characters and interaction and humour, and what human warmth and connection can offer, and has always offered: comfort and redemption in increasingly dystopian times.
What was the original inspiration behind this story?
On a bus back at night on the Old Kent Road about 6 years ago, I saw the aftermath of an accident at the Bricklayer’s Arms junction where a delivery driver had been smashed by a truck. The bike was still lying there, glass scattered all over the place, but the body had gone. This is the first image of Night City.
How much of your own experience in insecure jobs influenced these characters?
We never had much money growing up, so I always had to work. My first job was stacking cans in a corner shop at age 8 or 9 (which I’m sure is probably illegal) and then selling Pokemon cards and sweets out of my bag. Then there was Superdrug, pubs, a tree surgeon; as a crew member, dismantling stages and lugging equipment, painter and decorator, etc. I was rubbish at most of these jobs, but they (just about) paid the rent and allowed me to spy on people; my favourite pastime.
And then between those jobs, cycling around mostly at night, I would write as much as I could. These observations and personal experiences fed so much into the play, and all my writing.
What was the challenge of having three actors play many of the roles across intersecting stories?
It is a big challenge, but I’ve done a similar thing with previous plays, and Ebe, our director, and I have a shared vision definitely in terms of this. We like plays to be bigger and more operatic, not confined to single sets or rooms, steal structural and narrative elements from cinema, and I’ve found, although it’s exhausting, of course, for everyone, three is just about enough to do it. And you create a real frenetic energy in the room that is exhilarating also and seductive.
What do you hope audiences reflect on when they step back out onto the street?
I want them to have a lot of fun, with the music and the comedy and the tapestry of characters that will hopefully be conjured well on the stage. And then, I hope, to feel deeply for those characters and perhaps look again at an industry that is quite invisible but ever-growing.
Night City is coming to Southwark Playhouse Borough, London from the 9th September to 3rd October 2026. For tickets and more information, visit: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/night-city/
