Set in 1950s London, See How They Run follows plans for a movie version of a smash-hit West End play that come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered.

The See How They Run filming locations took us across London and the UK, with Theatreland and Soho at the heart of the location brief.

Director: Tom George
Production Designer: Amanda McArthur
Studio: Searchlight Pictures
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Ruth Wilson & Adrien Brody
Locations: London & UK
Location Brief: 1950s Period London – Theatreland, Soho & Period Country Locations

See How They Run Filming Locations

The location brief for See How They Run was a great one: 1950s London, primarily Theatreland and Soho, together with period outer London and country locations.

Working with director Tom George and production designer Amanda McArthur, the challenge was to find real London locations that could convincingly take us back to the early 1950s.

Theatreland was at the heart of the story.

We needed theatres, hotels, streets and interiors that still carried the elegance and character of post-war London, while also being practical filming locations for a major feature film.

Then COVID happened.

Filming during the pandemic brought an extraordinary set of challenges, but it also created some unusual opportunities. London was quieter, theatres were closed and locations that would ordinarily have been incredibly difficult to access suddenly became possible.

The production filmed in some extraordinary London locations, including the Old Vic, St Martin’s Theatre, the Dominion Theatre and the Savoy Hotel.

It was a strange time to be making a film. Strict COVID protocols affected almost every aspect of location preparation and filming, but the cast and crew adapted and somehow we managed to create a colourful, glamorous version of 1950s London in the middle of a global pandemic.

Tom George brought a sharp, witty visual style to the film. Following his work on This Country, his approach to the classic British whodunit felt fresh and playful, while still embracing the atmosphere and visual language of the period.

Amanda McArthur’s production design was equally important in transforming modern London back to 1953. The locations and design had to work hand in hand, finding the right architecture, texture and scale before layers of period dressing could complete the transformation.

For me, that is always one of the most interesting parts of location work on a period film. London is constantly changing, but hidden among the modern buildings, signage and street furniture are fragments of another city.

The job is finding them.

Here is a selection of my original location scout photographs from See How They Run.