Five of our Favourite London Locations from Last Night in Soho (That You Can Actually Visit IRL)
London A-Zs at the ready: we time-travel back to the West End of the 1960s, to go behind the scenes of Edgar Wright’s acclaimed new horror film
01 November, 2021
Searches
for time-travel films skyrocketed during lockdown last
year, so it’s no surprise that Edgar Wright’s latest psychological
horror has taken the world by storm. Set in 1960s London, the plot
follows Eloise, a young fashion student with a mysterious ability
to travel back in time. When there, she becomes embroiled in the
life of a dazzling aspiring singer, only to watch her dreams fade
into something much darker. As its name implies, the film was
largely shot around Soho – director Edgar Wright’s beloved home
turf – as well as in several other central pockets of the city,
bringing London’s greatest era to vivid life on the big screen. In
an effort to follow in the young starlet’s footsteps, we dust down
our vintage map and travel back to the capital’s heyday.
Swinging back to the Sixties: Five Historic London Locations
from Last Night in Soho
Fitzrovia
Eloise’s first destination when she arrives in the big city is
the 1960s-built concrete London College of Fashion building on John
Prince’s Street, which plays itself in the film. Much-storied Maple
Street also features, as home to the young fashion student’s
accommodation block, appearing in stark contrast to the rolling
hills of her Cornish hometown.
Brick Lane
The film culminates in a fashion show shot in The Truman
Brewery, at the epicentre of London’s East End. Having been
redeveloped in the 1990s as an arts complex, this infamous brewery
is perfectly reminiscent of Soho in the Swinging Sixties.
Paddington
A classic arrival-scene destination, Paddington station marks
the spot where the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Eloise first arrives
in London from Cornwall.
Soho
Home to The Toucan, the pub where Eloise attends a night out and
ends up finding her first job in London, Soho was also the location
for several other key scenes in the film, with stops including Old
Compton Street, Carnaby Street and the legendary Soho Square.
According to the film’s co-writer, The Toucan was known for its
disco, “Knuckles Bar”, back in the day, with celebrity guests
including Jimi Hendrix and The Animals.
Haymarket
The imposing Empire Cinema plays Café de Paris in the film, the
location of Eloise’s first encounter with her alter ego, Sandy, and
the spot where she attends a screening of Thunderball. According to
Wright, the reproduction of the original giant 1960s film poster
attracted dozens of curious cinephiles during the shoot.
