Knife on the Table, Cockpit Theatre Review
Knife on the Table production image. Photo by Toby Mather
Reviewed by Bronagh for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Content warning: depictions of violence and sex, mentions of violence, sex, drugs, suicide and exploitation
Knife on the Table follows a group of Londoners, all of whose lives interweave in one way or another. They are all affected by gang violence, whether directly or otherwise, currently or in the past. Knife on the Table explores lives of crime, exploitation and trauma, in a show that is very important today.
Knife on the Table starts with the characters on stage, all having conversations that interweave with one another. Whilst this could be tricky to follow at first, things soon fell into place and the pace was set. The conversations may interweave but don’t drown others out, so we quickly learn Book babysits for Chantal’s daughter Acacia, Shania is having her first baby scan and Danny is volunteering at Childline taking a vulgar call from Bragg. We get a feel for the characters instantly, all very realistic representations.
Writer and co-director Jonathan Brown alongside Marlie Haco has created a show which explores the environmental drivers behind ‘the knife’, rehumanising the young people involved. I can easily say that he has certainly achieved this with Knife on the Table, with a lot of research clearly going into the writing and not just focusing on ‘gang members who carry knives’. I found the back stories of the characters interesting to listen to and follow, particularly Book (Moyosola Olashore) who it is hinted had a rocky start to her teen years but is now focusing on becoming a surgeon. The book’s character is shown to put a lot of pressure on herself to become ‘better’, to get away from the crime she finds herself surrounded by, so much so that she takes drugs to help focus on revising for an exam. Having a character like Book was refreshing, given that it could have been easy to just focus on gang members and those more directly involved in violence.
The cast are all brilliant, portraying characters who I enjoyed watching. As well as writing Knife on the Table Jonathan Brown also plays ‘Angel’, a gangland chief who is keen to take lost teenager Flint (Jez Davess-Humphrey) under his wing so much so that he gifts him his own knife. Brown presents Angel as skin-crawlingly creepy and exploitative, important in showing that these gang leaders do generally prey on younger people to carry out their work. Davess-Humphrey’s portrayal of Flint left me torn, on the face of it unable to decide whether to feel sorry for him or not. This is where it was important for me to take a step back and consider that although we can villainise gang members, there generally is a driving force behind their actions which Brown did a great job in presenting.
Not only do we have a great script, we also have music from drummer Fred Hills throughout. Suspended above the stage, Hills plays music that suits the current mood from slow and foreboding to thundering beats in those more crucial moments. This is a great addition to the show, adding an extra layer that I didn’t know we needed.
Knife on the Table is two hours long, with an interval in the middle. I did feel like the first half could have maybe ended sooner, and I found myself thinking ‘this must be it…’, ‘this must be where we break’ on several occasions. The second half was a lot shorter than the first, which I appreciate is the norm, but I do think we could have ended the first half sooner.
Knife on the Table ends in a tragic way, so much so Flint finds that he does need a knife to try to attempt to save a life. This was an extremely powerful and emotional way to end.I found myself throughout wondering how the show would end and this was not what I expected. I will say the penultimate scene blindsided me slightly, a fight scene which was almost Shakespearean with all the movements and had me slightly bemused to be honest. I do think made the ending even more emotional for me personally, slight bemusement turning into sheer emotion.
Knife on the Table really delivered for me, with realistic portrayals and an overall interesting story to watch pan out. It has been stated that the cast all understand the issues, which on top of Brown’s own experiences, is clear to see. Sometimes frustrating, mostly thought provoking and emotional, this is not a show that you want to miss.
At the Cockpit Theatre until 26th October 2024.
★ ★ ★ ★
