Award-winning actor and writer Jessica Regan brings their acclaimed solo show 16 Postcodes to King’s Head Theatre this February.
Following a sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe, the autobiographical piece explores two decades of life in London’s private rental market, told through stories from sixteen different postcodes.
16 Postcodes runs from 25 February to 8 March 2026 at King’s Head Theatre. Tickets are available here.
You’re bringing 16 Postcodes to King’s Head Theatre – what can you tell us about the show?
It’s never the same show twice!
It comprises monologues about all the different postcodes I have lived in during my time in London, and I have traversed north, south, east and west. The audience chooses which monologues I perform, so it’s like taking a different route through London each time.
The show had a sell‑out run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2024. How does it feel to bring 16 Postcodes to London?
It feels so special.
The show is, at its heart, a love letter to London with all its contradictions and complexities and its myriad possibilities. A run here was inevitable, but a run in such a fabulous theatre so close to one of the postcodes feels anointed, and I am so grateful to the people who got me here.
The piece explores life in London’s rental market. How have your own experiences shaped the stories audiences will hear?
Well, it’s all true! Each postcode is taken directly from personal experience.
But it is curated in such a way that each postcode is a different story that happened to me, and also a different genre – Clapham Junction has romcom vibes, Primrose Hill could be seen as social commentary, Maida Vale is a disaster movie, Mile End is a ghost story…
I really want to give the audience that feeling of London whereby it can be a totally different city and experience depending on the borough, the zone and, of course, the postcode.
With the Renters Rights Bill now in effect, how do you think the show resonates with current conversations around housing and legislation?
Some of what I have experienced wouldn’t happen now with these greater protections in place, and I’m so pleased to see some reforms being made.
But they are not as sweeping or impregnable as talk radio might have you believe. It’s some very basic dignities being afforded to tenants. You can’t be thrown out of your home for no reason; you can’t have multiple rent increases in a year… great, but that should hardly be considered controversial or ‘unworkable’.
It is a privilege to have someone pay rent and maintain your property while it is appreciating exponentially in a city where demand always outranks supply. London landlords’ income is two‑fold. There are also tax reliefs for repairs and periods of non‑occupancy.
As I say in the show, since I moved here in 2004, property prices have increased by something like 518%. Wages have increased by 5.8%. So I really don’t understand all the whining from callers on LBC, to be honest.
Audience participation is a big part of 16 Postcodes. How does that influence the energy and uniqueness of each performance?
It makes it my favourite show I’ve ever done.
I love hearing a bit of the audience’s experience, what connection they might have to a postcode… it’s so joyous to have those moments of back and forth.
It has somewhat ruined me, though, as the energy you get is so wonderful. Might be a struggle to do a sombre play after this!
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see 16 Postcodes?
Don’t hesitate.
We have done forty‑odd shows to delighted audiences, many of whom return to see more. If you like theatre, stand‑up or just a good yarn, this is a great night out that will banish any winter blues, I promise!
