“brutal and lyrical, appalling and somehow poetic”
When going to a Philip Ridley play you know there will be bleakness, anger and what the critic Aleks Sierz christened In-Yer-Face-Theatre. Vincent River has all that, and some whip-smart comedy to lighten the load. It’s a brilliant, fierce piece of writing, beautifully brought to life in this production by the superb performances of Louise Jameson and Thomas Mahy.
Robert Chevara directs with a sense of rhythm and choreography that produces a natural rise and fall of narrative and emotion. The story unfolds against a backdrop of East London locations and a harsh, vicious homophobia that shocks and saddens. The set is a plain room that Anita has just moved into. It is not yet a home, just a place. Nicolai Hart Hansen has judged the mood well with his set and costume design, providing enough of a background to support the story without imposing itself.
Vincent River was written in 2000 and, as Chevara says in the programme notes, ‘it is even more prophetic and prescient now than the it was first produced.’ Hate crime has risen by 29% in the past year, but hate crime against LGBTIQA people has risen by 80%. Also in the notes, Chevara says that Ridley suggests, in this play, ‘that only through honesty can we find absolution.’ And the honesty blazes in both the writing and the performances. It is brutal and lyrical, appalling and somehow poetic. The tension between the characters of Anita and Davey is like a thread of elastic, twisting and pulling through fear, distrust, sexuality, disgust and a kind of acceptance. The connection between Jameson and Mahy is palpable, as their characters navigate the minefield of emotions, eventually finding the honesty that both characters need.
Thomas Mahy is a recent graduate of Drama Centre London, and is absolutely equal to the challenge of acting with the vastly more experienced Louise Jameson, who is known for her illustrious TV roles (most notably Doctor Who’s assistant Leela in the 70s), not to mention a theatre career that has taken her to the RSC and the National Theatre. It’s good to see a new actor clearly on the way to a promising career.
“strikingly well observed, with a constant stream of laugh out loud moments”
Well it was a miracle I got to the Charing Cross Theatre, I live in that part of South East London & North Kent that Network Rail seems to have declared war on. Trains no longer stop at London Bridge and rarely arrive at Charing Cross at all, and this evening they decided in their wisdom to cancel my train with 5 minutes notice … So a reroute via Cannon Street and tube meant I arrived just in time for curtain up. Seated behind Maureen Lipman, whose late husband Jack Rosenthal wrote the original 1979 comedy as a TV film, I tried to calm my heavy breathing and seem as unflustered as possible as the lights dimmed!
The play focuses on three men hoping to become London black cab drivers. It follows them as they take exam after exam on street names, routes, and obscure places within the capital. This process of training is ‘The Knowledge’.
We witness the would-be cabbies progressive attempts to gain their green badge and create better opportunities for themselves and their families. Through their interactions we learn more about the people on the course and what it means to each of them to gain ‘The Knowledge’. Their home lives and varied backgrounds are slowly revealed as the stress and pressure to achieve takes its toll.
The budding taxi drivers (James Alexandrou, Ben Caplan, Fabien Frankel & Louise Callaghan) are all less daunted by learning 15,000 road names than they are by their examiner, the slightly crazed Mr Burgess, aka ‘The Vampire’ (portrayed in a wonderfully comic performance by Steven Pacey). Each of the cast were outstanding and held the audience’s attention throughout, delivering exactly the right amount of giggles and raw emotion. The supporting artists come and go adding dimension to the experience and creating memorable cameos as well as giving further insight into the background story of each wannabe driver.
The script, by Simon Block, has been expertly adapted, accentuating the original humour of Rosenthal while altering some aspects of late 1970s culture for 21st century appreciation. It is strikingly well observed (enhanced even moreso by Nicolai Hart-Hansen’s clever set) with a constant stream of laugh out loud moments and a great nostalgic soundtrack at interval!
The play moves seamlessly along keeping you wondering exactly what will happen next. You wouldn’t put money on who will gain The Knowledge in the end! A great comic evening out. Hail it while you can!
Reviewed by Joanna Hinson
Photography by Scott Rylander
THE KNOWLEDGE
is at The Charing Cross Theatre until 11th November
