The world premiere production of Simon Reade’s adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s novel continues to play in London until the 17th October.
Broadway World: “The central premise remains engaging, and the cast brings commitment to a story which is unrelentingly bleak. There is momentum, but the narrative, while remaining a loyal reflection of Hamilton’s writing, needs a stronger emotional connection with its characters. Without some level of likability or at least a deeper understanding of their vulnerabilities, the production struggles to establish the empathy which its subject matter requires.”
The Guardian: “You miss the obsessive inner wrangling over social status in the novels, although Enriquez deftly suggests Jenny’s turmoil about what even a choice of drink may signify about her when she meets George through another sex worker, Prunella (Lucy Gray). The minimal setup also denies the chance to pore over a detailed design for the Midnight Bell, whose personal and public atmospheres Hamilton likened to a theatre itself. But this engrossing production mostly gets the measure of the trilogy.”
The Reviews Hub: “Director Matthew Iliffe lets his cast get on with it, giving us an unshowy attention to detail. One wishes the Southwark Playhouse Borough had a revolving stage. The performance is delivered in the round. Whichever side you are on, you will miss some of the ensemble interaction, and the sightlines can be poor. But it is a minor gripe. This is a first-class adaptation of a trilogy that speaks of today’s capital, as much as Hamilton’s Jazz Age city.”
All That Dazzles: ” Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky has moments when its strengths come to the surface, with elements that show real potential and a distinctive design. Ultimately, however, the decision to condense three novels into two hours of theatre comes at the expense of character development and storytelling needed to make us care about the lives at its centre.”
The Arts Desk: “Stage adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s trilogy of jazz-age London novels is interesting if a bit slender.”
London Pub Theatres.com: “Best known for his work that has been turned into films—Rope, Gaslight and Hangover Square, Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky is an excellent introduction for newbies to Patrick Hamilton who wrote evocatively about London and its dwellers, “the weird teeming aquarium of the metropolis.” Although almost a hundred years old, the demands of the capital that drive the characters are ones that audiences will recognise. This remains a city underscored by economic uncertainty, hard times and class division. Its inhabitants, crowded into these twenty thousand streets, still come to chase dreams, make money and find connection.”
Everything Theatre: “What ultimately resonates is the play’s bleak honesty. Everyone is simply making choices within the narrow confines of their lives, even when those choices are clearly bad for them. There is a strange reassurance in that realism – a catharsis in seeing human nature reflected so plainly. And perhaps the most sobering thought is how little has changed. A hundred years on, the streets may look different but the struggles, compromises and quiet heartbreaks remain much the same.”
Plays to See: “Character is foremost in a play about loneliness and desire presented on a bare set with a minimum of props. The cast play it out brilliantly, but ultimately the script is flat with no life-shaking reversals, just a simple representation of unrequited love in unsuitable relationships which would never work. As it is based on the original writer’s real experiences, it could be expected to be more heart-rending but in fact leaves us thinking depressingly: ‘Oh, yes, that’s life.’”
Theatre & Tonic: “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.”
West End Best Friend: “Simon Reade has created a central drama from this semi-autobiographical trilogy, which focuses on three key characters and the milieu in which they live. We met many of the same characters in Matthew Bourne’s Midnight Bell ballet, another recent re-imagining of Hamilton’s work. Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, produced by Troupe, is a worthy successor to the same company’s adaptation of The Forsyte Saga and serves as an engrossing introduction to the work of a largely forgotten writer.
To book tickets visit: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/twenty-thousand-streets/