The Curious Case of Albert Cashier: Lincoln’s ‘Lady’ Soldier – Mill Theatre – Review

The Curious Case of Albert Cashier: Lincoln’s ‘Lady’ Soldier – Quintessence Theatre

We meet a young Irish woman as she is travelling to America for the first time.  She has lived through the Irish famine and is leaving in search of a new life overseas.  She loses her ticket on the Dock and is befriended by a young man called Albert. The two attempt to get on board the ship, and they eventually succeed.  They become good friends but when Albert falls ill on the boat and eventually dies, the young woman makes an amazing decision.  She starts her new life in America as a man called Albert.

This is a new play by Quintessence Theatre Company that tells the true story of Albert J Cashier, who was born a woman in Clogherhead, County Louth, but lived as a man in America, eventually joining the army in the American Civil War.  It is a fascinating story of an early trans person who long before such terms as Trans existed, decided to change their sex and live as a man.

The initial scene of the play tells us that this is not going to be a straightforward version of the story,  as we see five white ‘cocoons’ on stage.  There are creatures within these cocoons, which eventually drag and pull themselves out of their shells, like butterflies emerging from the chrysalis stage of their existence.  It’s an impressive metaphor for what we are about to see.

Movement and dance are used in several stages of the play.  There are minimal props on stage but each of the five actors has a small wooden box or crate, along with a white pole.  The poles are used for many purposes, to create handrails, walking sticks and even rifles. It is an inventive and stylish way to tell the story,  that allows the imagination of the viewer to fill in the blanks.

The five cast members play a multitude of different characters throughout the play,  with only one actor (Ceara Carney) focusing on Albert. At almost two and a half hours long including the interval,  there may have been some moments that could have been omitted without averting the flow of the story, but in truth, the story rarely lags.

The script for this work was written by the collective and it is an interesting story of a complex individual. The young cast do a remarkable job with the variety of characters on stage. Ceara Carney is very impressive as Albert, especially as an older man where each movement is a struggle.  The use of mime and dance move the production away from a purely realistic version of the story to something quite unique.

Quintessence Theatre in association with Droichead Arts Centre present The Curious Case of Albert Cashier: Lincoln’s ‘Lady’ Soldier

Tour Dates Remaining –

Thursday 2nd November @ 8pm – Lime Tree / Belltable, Limerick
Tickets: 061 953400 / www.limetreetheatre.ie – €18/€16

Wednesday 8th – Saturday 11th November 2023 @ 7.30pm – Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar, Dublin 8
Tickets: 01 6770014 / www.smockalley.com – €21/€19

CREATIVES:

Directed by Anna Simpson
Set, Costume & Projection by Els Borghart & Declan Kelly
Lighting Design by Colin Doran
Executive Producer Paul Hayes
Poster by Niall O’Brien

CAST – Ceara Carney, Fiona Keenan O’Brien, Anthony Kinahan, Mark O’Reilly, Leah Rossiter
Devised by Quintessence Theatre