Albert's Boy

Finborough Theatre 19 July - 13 August 2005 A co-production with Concordance Albert's Boy By James Graham Starring Tony Award Winner Victor Spinetti and Gerard Monaco. Winner: Pearson Playwright Award Pick of the Week: The Stage, Aleks Sierz Rogues & Vagabonds, Newsline Four Stars: What's On

Creative Team Play Information Reviews Sound Bites

Sound Bites

“Fringe theatre at its best.”
“Albert's Boy offers Victor Spinetti the chance to give a masterclass, ably supported by Gerard Monaco.”
“Acting that radiates warmth.”
“Its debate is clear and the conflict between the two men is lucidly realised.”

-Aleks Sierz, The Stage

“Extraordinary.”
“Gerard Monaco plays the reserved but disturbed Bucky with Quiet dignity.”
“Victor Spinetti is outstanding... moving and funny.”
“Thought provoking... given the current war on terrorism.”

-Cheryl Freedman, What’s On in London

“A beautifully crafted piece.”
“The play cleverly juxtaposes the general and the individual throughout.”
“Victor Spinetti is brilliant as Einstein... He captures the old man's vulnerability, while carrying the intellectual weight inside, with the wit and gentleness of the character.”
“An excellent performance.”
“Designer Alex Marker has made interesting and beautifully detailed use of the space, which I am sure he will adapt ingeniously if this wonderful production gets the transfer it deserves.”

-Joanna Bacon, Rogues and Vagabonds

“A climactic evocation of the bomb.”
“Set in 1953, it’s an old-fashioned two-hander, with Spinetti magnificent as a lonely, ageing Albert Einstein, struggling, and failing, to develop a unified theory that will explain the physics of the universe and somehow assuage his guilt for having developed the ideas that led to the atomic bomb. Spinetti is fortunate in his debating partner, the young actor Gerard Monaco.”
“What is moving is to see a young actor and an old actor working together to show that neither youth nor age can escape the damage done by modern conflict.”

-Robert Hewison, The Sunday Times

“Victor Spinetti is particularly affecting.”
“James Graham, another Royal Court young writer making his mark at the Finborough, belies his 22 years. There is a precocity in his talent, but through the delicate employment of understatement he never drifts into the pretentious or patronizing zones.”

-Benjamin Davis, Time Out

“Victor Spinettie is luminously sypathetic as Einstein.”
“The actors are excellent.”
“Two top-drawer performances.”

-Brian Logan, The Guardian

“Bold.”
“Compelling — affable, agonised, raging, and despairing by turns.”

-Sam Marlowe, The Times

“James Graham writes good dialogue and builds several scenes to a pointed climax.”
“Incredibly skilful and moving.”

-Timothy Ramsden, Reviews Gate