REVIEW: The Knowledge, Charing Cross Theatre ✭✭✭
With its tidy ending and compact narrative, The Knowledge is satisfying enough, but capable of so much more than is ever delivered.
Jack Rosenthal
Maureen Lipman to direct stage premiere of The Knowledge
Maureen Lipman is to direct the world stage premiere of Jack Rosenthal’s The Knowledge at the Charing Cross Theatre in September 2017. Based on the iconic 1979 film which Lipman played a leading role in, The Knowledge has special significance for Lipman as she is Rosenthal’s widow. Set against the backdrop of the harsh economic times in 1979, the play follows the hilarious struggles of four Londoners as they attempt to better themselves by attempting the fearsome “Knowledge” – the process of becoming a London black cab driver. Standing between them and the coveted Green Badge is the eccentric Mr Burgess, the examiner. Also known as “The Vampire”, he is on an obsessive mission to maintain standards. Maureen said: “It is 13 years since I lost my husband, the unassuming genius Jack Rosenthal. The Knowledge is perhaps Jack’s best realised play – a hymn to the London that he … Read more
