Knife on the Table Review

October 13, 2024

Knife on the Table Review

5th – 26th October 2024

No matter how much we may want one or how hard we may yearn for one, some stories don’t have happy endings – be it in real life or on stage.

Endings can be heartbreaking, ground shaking and uncomfortable to ponder, but these stories are vital and Jonathan Brown’s Knife on The Table, is one such example.

It’s running at Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone until 26th October and it is a story that most certainly deserves to be told.

Through the prism of four young Londoners, Brown explores themes of ambition, which differs hugely between each character; identity and the circumstances that drive people towards crime.

The first thing which immediately strikes the audience is how young these young Londoners actually are.

It’s easy to forget that Shania, who is pregnant with Bragg’s baby and battling trauma-induced insomnia, is just 14 years old when she tells support worker Carole that she’s not his girl but “his dog” and he owns her.

Flint has started dealing drugs on the streets of South London and gang land chief Angel is keen for him to move up the ranks.

And Book, his childhood friend who babysits his younger sister to pay for her tutor, wants out.

She has dreams of being a surgeon and is adamant that “no wasters” are going to ruin her life.

The story is meticulously told to the beat of Fred Hills’ drums. Sitting on top of the scaffolding, which cleverly shapes the stage, every is action unfolds to the mesmerising soundtrack of the drums.

“…it is a story that most certainly deserves to be told”

Now, you were warned. A Knife On The Table does not have a happy ending.

In fact, it was one of the most soul-shattering endings I have ever experienced, and one I’m still thinking about four days later.

No matter how much I would have liked everything to have worked out for the characters, I know that Brown made the right decision.

In 2019, when Brown decided to return to the theme of knife crime, there were 22,000 reported knife offences in England and Wales alone.

Last year, that number had risen to a staggering 49,489.

Yet, Brown wasn’t interested in numbers or playing the blame game.

Instead, he wanted to re-humanise the young players, questioning the inevitability of their lives; the consequences of hasty decisions; and the ironic poeticism which exists amongst it all.

Brown achieves this through immaculate attention to detail, which is cleverly manifested through gangland chief Angel’s tea collection which is made up of Rooibos (his favourite), Darjeeling and Breakfast or Shania’s baby name suggestions which included Kanye.

But of course, you can’t name your baby after a “Trump supporting Slave trade denier”.

And if there’s one piece advice to take away from A Knife on The Table, that’s a pretty good place to start.