Q&A with Max Wilkinson ahead of Night City’s London run

We talk with writer Max Wilkinson about his new show, Night City, coming to Southwark Playhouse Borough this Autumn. Max discusses the wide range of jobs he has had and the people and perspectives he encountered along the way. He also shares the real-life experiences behind the play, including the incident on the Old Kent Road that became the starting point for Night City and how conversations with delivery riders, taxi drivers and other workers helped shape its characters.

Night City explores London's gig economy through three interconnected stories. What first made you want to write about this world?

I’ve always been interested in work. Growing up we didn’t have much money so me and my brothers always had to find jobs. My first job was at 8 or 9 years old stacking cans in a corner shop which was possibly illegal but I was very grateful for that. Then used to dog walk, sell kit kats out of my bag at school, pokemon cards and… other things. And then Super Drug, tree surgeon, crewing, service jobs, anything really. 

I was pretty rubbish at all of them but they paid the bills and meant I could always spy on people and see so many different characters and perspectives. So I’ve always been interested in modern working culture: how precarious it is, how digested and anonymous, how absurd and funny, and how it lets you into all these different worlds and perspectives. 

The play is based on real experiences. How much research went into it, and were there any stories that particularly stayed with you that didn’t make it into the piece?

So, as I say, my aunt worked for a grim care company and I worked a lot of the jobs that are threaded into Night City; my cousin is also a nurse. I also spent a lot of time interviewing delivery riders, taxi drivers and other types of workers. Every vignette or character is directly influenced by something quite real, I’d say. 

Was there one particular story or conversation that made you realise this needed to become a piece of theatre?

 On a bus back at night on the Old Kent Road about 6 years ago, I saw the aftermath of an accident on 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. 

Is there one character you found yourself relating to more than the others?

It’s a really good question… they’re such an amalgamation of people I know personally, friends and family, people I’ve met. But also bits of me too. I like Jack the driver’s hedonism, Tia the waitress’s romantic naivety and Tamara the carer’s big heart. Quite hard to choose… bits of all of them really making up one mega person!

Do you think comedy allows audiences to engage with difficult subjects in a different way?

100%. Definitely. I feel lots of people might hear about this play and think it’s very worthy and serious. It’s not. Of course it has a real political edge and argument but I don’t want to tell anyone want to think. Ultimately it’s about joy and dark comedy and celebrating stories and characters in a new world and economy that attempts to stifle and homogenise that. And humour and absurdity is at the forefront of that! I hope people can come and genuinely have a really good time. 

Night City is coming to Southwark Playhouse Borough, London from the 9^th September to 3^rd October 2026. For tickets and more information visit: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/night-city/