In the age of Uber, a play about cabbies taking ‘The Knowledge’ – a fiendishly difficult examination of their familiarity with London’s streets – may seem an anachronism. And indeed, it largely is. But Maureen Lipman’s production, based on a TV play by her late husband Jack Rosenthal, has a big enough heart that its essential irrelevancy is forgivable.
Beginning in 1979, when the TV play was broadcast (with a cast that included Lipman), ‘The Knowledge’ revolves around four disparate characters attempting to navigate both London’s geography and their equally complex personal relationships.
Ted (Ben Caplan) is trying to live up to the pressures of a Jewish cab-driving dynasty; Gordon (James Alexandrou) is keen to pick up more than just passengers; Chris (Fabien Frankel) wants to prove himself to his career-minded girlfriend; and Miss Staveley (Louise Callaghan) must overcome ingrained sexism.
Overseeing them all is the eccentric examiner Mr Burgess, created on screen by Nigel Hawthorne and here brought colourfully to life by Steven Pacey. He has a tendency to slip into accents, ask outlandish questions and generally carry on like a Monty Python sergeant major. But, as becomes apparent as his charges struggle through the lengthy course, there’s method to his madness.
Despite Pacey’s eye-catching performance, this is very much an ensemble effort, and the cabbies’ gallows humour proves infectious. It’s easy to sympathise with their long-suffering partners (assuredly portrayed by Jenna Augen, Celine Abrahams and Alice Felgate), who soon grow to rue the day The Knowledge entered their lives. There is something undeniably perverse about putting these working families through such a punishing programme.
Lipman shows an appropriately strong sense of direction, while adaptor Simon Block remains faithful to Rosenthal’s original; the temptation to take a swipe at satnav is resisted. Despite its kitschy feel, ‘The Knowledge’ is an enjoyable tribute both to the talents of its creator and a section of the workforce we too often take for granted