Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky at Southwark Playhouse Borough Review
Photo: Mitzi de Margary
Patrick Hamilton’s semi-autobiographical trilogy, Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, explores the loneliness of Londoners looking for connection in the dark streets of 1920s London. Adapted by Simon Reade and directed by Matthew Iliffe, the show successfully balances humour and sorrow in the text but would benefit from further relationship development between the characters.
Set around the fictional Midnight Bell pub, barman Bob (Jordan Scowen) falls in love with prostitute Jenny (Yanexi Enriquez). Desperate to realise the relationship, he continues to offer her money from his savings to keep her safe; however, Jenny’s intentions are more ambiguous than Bob anticipates. Meanwhile, pub regular Mr Eccles (Michael Maloney) yearns for barmaid Ella (Rosalind Lailey) despite the gap in age and socio-economic background.
Set designer Ellie Wintour and lighting designer Alex Musgrave do a great job of portraying the dark side of London in the 1920s. Simple yet effective, they use just a few hanging props to set the scene, such as a metal pub sign and a lamp post. The darkness of it all creates a smoggy, sultry atmosphere that could be connected to the red-light district. What was most impressive was the large industrial plank, which included a stencil of a 1920s London map that was lit up on the stage floor. This set the scene really nicely.
What Reade and Iliffe do well is the power play between the male and female characters. While effectively depicting the dangers of being a woman without money in 1920s London, ultimately the women have the final say in their relationships with men. Scowen’s naivety as Bob is interesting to watch, with his eagerness to ‘fix’ Jenny alluding to classic misogynistic stereotypes of the male saviour and the expectation to choose the nice guy. Similarly, Maloney’s charismatic yearning as Mr Eccles is perhaps the best performance of the evening.
What didn’t work as well was some of the chemistry between the characters. Encounters were rushed at times, meaning that the romantic elements felt less believable. Ella’s love for Bob was downplayed, and more tension-building embedded in the direction would help develop their connection. Likewise, Jenny’s behaviour was indistinguishable throughout the narrative, which made understanding her character more confusing.
Playing at Southwark Playhouse until 17th October, Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky is, overall, an engaging show. It’s an easy-to-watch drama that fits its description as a love letter to 1920s London.
★★★
Written by Becky for Theatre and Tonic, September 2026.
