There’s no doubt that working conditions and employee power have slowly eroded in the past few decades. Secure jobs that are well paid and fulfilling are dwindling like ice caps. Decent employment options are likely to die out with the generation that once enjoyed them. Everyone ditched mini cab firms and black Hackney cabs for the cheap convenience of Uber, which is no longer the budget option it once was. Now, there are few alternatives to Uber, which seems to have a monopoly on the market and appears to be taking advantage of both drivers and customers.
In the States, working as an app-based delivery driver is considered one of the deadliest occupations. A landmark report by the advocacy group Gig Workers Rising documented at least 80 app-based workers were murdered on the job between 2017 and 2022, through carjacking and robberies. That society has slept walked into this union free, gig economy on a global scale is both depressing and enraging. Night City by Max Wilkinson steps into this maelstrom of opaque algorithms and corporate corruption, with a production that’s set in contemporary south London.
The play charts the intersecting lives of three characters; Jack (Jack Ambrose), Tamara (Helena Pipe) and Tia (Bex Smith). Jack is a cab driver for GoGo Cars, which is an Uber-esque company that uses sinister tactics to monitor and control the staff. Tamara is a black, single mother, who works on a zero hours contract as a care worker for a company owned by venture capitalists. Tia is an aspirational writer, who’s arrived in London, hoping for a book deal while working part time. Everyone is overworked, underpaid, stressed to bits and close to going under.
Ambrose, Pipe and Smith are required to play a range of other characters as their narratives overlap and play out. While the cast did an admirable job of creating and inhabiting a host of other parts, this may have come at the cost of an emotional connection to the three main protagonists. Bex Smith showed great range, especially when playing a cantankerous old woman that Tamara the care worker visits. Wilkinson’s writing was particularly impressive in the dialogue between these two characters. Pipe played it straight, while Smith revelled in the absurd campness of the character. This dynamic was a joy to watch and felt like the emotional centre of the play. When Pipe is forced by the old lady she’s caring for, to sing Young Hearts Run Free at karaoke, it was genuinely moving.
Set Design by Olivia Jamieson was highly original, featuring a cage of perpendicular, chunky chains that had distinct sex dungeon vibes. The symbolism was far from subtle, but it worked well, functioning as both a maze and a blank canvas for the actors to navigate. Throughout the show, there was an abundance of expressive movement, symbolising oppression, rave-infused joy and anxiety. While the three performers pulled off these moves with enthusiasm and skill, the contemporary dance diversions were a jarring contrast to the gritty dialogue and ultimately felt superfluous to the action.
Wilkinson is a skilled writer and Night City has sharp and hilarious one liners throughout, but the play felt more complex than it needed to be. Sometimes it was a challenge to keep up with all the characters, which ultimately made it difficult to feel empathy for them. The actors did a fine job of playing so many parts, it’s just a lot to ask of the audience. The topics addressed in Night City are hugely important and rarely discussed, so Wilkinson deserves credit for bringing them to the stage. The playwright’s decision to conclude Night City with a fatality, but also a crowd-pleasing happy ending felt unlikely. Late-stage capitalism does not favour the worker, the planet or humanity itself. Night City seems aware of this reality but somehow missed its target.
Night City is at Southwark Playhouse until 3rd October 2026,
Reviewer: Stewart Who?
Reviewed: 12th September 2026
North West End UK Rating: