Review: Children of the Night (Southwark Playhouse Borough)

Children of the Night, a production by Mad Friday Productions, is written by Danielle Phillips, based on the testimonies of 30 people from Doncaster and billed as a love letter to the working-class cultural pulse of the North. I was invited to review the show at Southwark Playhouse Borough.

Lindsay (Danielle Phillips) took us back to 1997, to the day she received her GCSE results and was planning a night out to celebrate. There were absolutely no words of dissuasion about her under-age clubbing plans from her dad (Gareth Radcliffe), who has always lived and worked in Doncaster and has lived understanding that the nightlife in the town (as the city was a town in the 90s) brought people together and gave some release from the daily grind. Indeed, he describes the rave scene in detail ‘the bass hits first’. The relationship between this dad and daughter is performed carefully and authentically.

The retelling of Lindsay and best friend Jen’s (Charlotte Brown) preparation for their first big night out was so true to the time.  The 20p bus fare, the preloading before you even get off the bus, the fear you won’t get in when you get to the front of the queue… for some, this was such a trip down memory lane.  (Probably the same people who also laughed at a reference to a local celebrity). Again the performance was a fantastic portrayal of the girls' situations. All three of the cast are strong and work well together.

Danielle Phillips and Gareth Radcliffe (Production photo by Marc Brenner)

It’s obvious that the writing of this play involved a lot of research and the gathering of experiences from people who were there.  The mention of particular areas of the town and pub and club names were specific; the club Karisma, legendary to the locals at the time.

What begins with the excitement of two young friends evolves as their first big night out progresses. Before long their experiences take them down different paths and with these routes their friendship also changes.  The way female friendships can change over a relatively short period of time and with the influence of others involved is well captured here.

The darker side of the Doncaster hedonistic nightclub scene took over in 1998 with the much-publicised heterosexual HIV infection cluster, bringing the attention of tabloid newspapers and striking fear into the hearts of the characters, and the local population at large.  

Being set at the time when the mining industry was fading to memory, the escape to have fun during the evenings must have been essential for the morale of the locals.  The contrast between the pure anticipation during the start of the girls’ first night out at the start of the play, and the events later on was useful for ensuring the focus of the audience remained steady throughout.

Danielle Phillips and Charlotte Brown (Production photo by Marc Brenner)

The direction by Kimberley Sykes ensures the play is mostly fast-paced to reflect the energy involved with two young people heading out clubbing. There are periods where the pace calms when more thought-provoking scenes take place, but there are also very quick shifts between the nightlife scenes and the domestic locations.  The set (Hannah Sibai) manages to convey all of these locations brilliantly.

The lighting design, by Jessie Addinall, was superb, from neon lights built into the set, to changes between the domestic scenes and those in the nightclub, including the use of a disco ball for one particular scene, it was effective and perfectly timed throughout.

A well-observed and satisfying debut play by Danielle Phillips, with a soundtrack of 90s hits. The writer's command of the stage in the role of Lindsay must also be highly praised.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Children of the Night runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 4 April.

If you would like to see my curtain call photographs from this and other shows, please visit my Instagram.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.