Albert Nobbs

Retirement, encroaching old age and death are all themes explored in Gordon Steel’s gentle little comedy, Albert Nobbs. Hilarious in places, there’s something more serious going on just below the surface. This is a play about moving on and seizing the day, making the most of life’s opportunities.
Set in the household of the Nobbs’ family, with a cleverly designed “tangoed” set that includes a concealed wardrobe and bed. Full credit to the set build & décor team of Mel Silver, Fran Silver, Brian Stead, Jeff Brown, Joy Binns, Liz Hopkinson & Cath Frank.
It is here we first discover that Albert’s wife Connie has just died and Joan Tattersall is delightful as the corpse who may have passed away but has not yet passed over. As Albert mourns, she joins in the conversation and continues to cajole him out of his loneliness until he can look forward to a fulfilled life. Chris Binns plays newly-retired Albert who is frustrated by his enforced leisure time and finds it difficult to cope without his wife. They have some nice comic lines and their timing is perfect. This must have been a challenging role for Chris, with a performance that ranged from some of the oldest jokes in the book to deep believable emotion brought on by grief. There aren’t many actors who could deliver that range with such panache.
Janine Head plays Alice, a caricature of a nosy neighbour who has lost her teeth and borrows someone else’s pair. It must have been challenging even talking with those teeth – full credit to Janine for managing it with style. Both with and without teeth, her diction and projection were second to none.
Connie’s friend, Rose, brings some solace and companionship to Albert as he starts to come to terms with his loss. Marie Isbister brought a natural warmth to the character with such a strong believable performance.
A funny, warm and often poignant script is matched by strong and self assured performances from the entire cast, which is surely down to the director, Chris Binns, who has created a production that pushes all the right buttons. It’s challenging to direct and perform, but such is Chris’ experience and ability, that he made it look simple.
The use of lighting was spot on (pun, intended) to differentiate between current & historical action and to highlight different acting areas – credit to Tom Clayton and Tina Nutt. Sound was well executed by Neil Bradford, with some inspired choices of music. All of this made for a smooth production under the watchful eye of Stage Manager, Rowena Saville.

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