Common Knowledge

Synopsis:

Fobbed off with a meagre $5,000 settlement by the Estate of Albert Einstein, Evelyn Einstein, his illegitimate daughter, adopted and raised by Albert’s son, Hans, is forced to eke out an existence with a motley assortment of jobs.

In fulfilling her brief as a deprogrammer, she wins the confidence of Ruth, who has been captured by a flat-earth cult, moving in with her and – wearing her other hat as an encyclopaedia salesperson – moves her encyclopaedias in with her, in the hope that the combined weight of the knowledge contained therein will help prise Ruth free of her delusions.

Meanwhile, it is revealed that the doctor who conducted Einstein’s post-mortem, a Dr Thomas Harvey, has kept Einstein’s brain, in a large cookie jar filled with formalin.

The stage is set for a bizarre yet true story – indeed, an odyssey – in which Evelyn sets her sights on gaining the trust of Dr Harvey, thereby procuring at least a piece of her father’s brain.

A stranger-than-fiction deliberation on the uses and abuses of genius and, ergo, knowledge.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a 3-hander:  2 females, 1 male
EVELYN EINSTEIN  46, 56, 22
RUTH  42
ROGER RICHMAN   43 / THOMAS HARVEY 75, 85 / ALBERT EINSTEIN] (voice only)  76 / GROVER KRANTZ  32 – one actor.

Setting:
California and Wichita, Kansas     1987
California                          1997 and 1963

Running-time:  75 minutes.

Production History:  Not yet produced.

Excerpt available for download for free.