Reader Reviews
Albert's Boy (Finborough, Inner London)
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 | On the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, James Graham’s beautiful new play at the Finborough questions the morality of nuclear power and the price of genius. Albert Einstein (Victor Spinetti) is driving himself crazy struggling with his conscience and the unanswerable question “did I do right or wrong in enabling the Bomb to be made?” He is visited by a young man, a family friend recently released from a Prisoner of War camp. Their warm fondness for each other enables them both to share their pain and is challenged, but not beaten, by their opposing beliefs. The play highlights thinking versus experience: the pain of the intellectual, both as a human being and as a ‘big picture’ thinker, versus the pain of Peter the soldier, who has seen action in the Korean War and now has a theory of his own. The Bomb and its effect haunts Einstein. His Universe has gone mad and there is an absence of a theory to explain it. Peter’s experience tells him that the Bomb stopped the War; his theory is that Hiroshima was the lesser of the two evils and saved more lives than it took. The play cleverly juxtaposes the general and the individual throughout, from both sides of the argument and is a beautifully crafted piece from 22 year old James Graham. From the moment we set eyes on him, Victor Spinetti is brilliant as Einstein. With his rolled up trouser-leg and one red sock he capture’s the old man’s vulnerability, while carrying the intellectual weight inside, with the wit and gentleness of the character. Gerard Monaco as Peter Bucky also turns in an excellent performance. The first scene was beautifully played by both actors, establishing their characters and also showing the tenor of their previous relationship. Bucky’s attempt to comfort Einstein by “getting real” about what good the Bomb did (scene three) contained all the depth and pain two men can carry, and was incredibly skilful and moving. Also, both actors when left alone on stage gave enormous attention to detail in their thinking, corporeal presence and their dealing with props, which were imbued with a positively Brechtian importance, attention I thoroughly admire and enjoyed enormously, and which is so important always, but especially in a tiny playing space. 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 © 2005 - 86.131.6.5) | 30 Jul 05 |
