Your Loving Brother Albert & Nellie - A Review

One of the hidden gems of Milton Keynes and the surrounding area is the vibrant local theatre scene. Last night we went to see the Pepper's Ghost Theatre Company production of Your Loving Brother Albert and Nellie at the Radcliffe School Theatre in Wolverton. The two plays, directed by Rosemary Hill, are both set in the Edwardian era and based in Wolverton, one of the small towns on the edge of modern Milton Keynes.

Nellie is a short musical play devised by Roy Nevitt and Roger Kitchen. It is based upon the diaries of Nellie Abbey nee Smith from 1901-1920. It is a deceptively gentle play which follows the early life of Nellie (Erinne Kate Barr) and her friends as they enter adulthood and become what today would be referred to as community organisers. It is a story not only of friendship but also of struggle. Nellie and her friends work in The Sewing Room, under the watchful eye of "The Dragon" (Joc Rose). As they become aware of the dreadful conditions they are working under they begin to campaign for what today would be regarded as basic working conditions.

Leisure is also a central part of the plot and the problems faced for young women like Nellie and her friends Effie (Georgia Tillery) and Ethel (Ciara Price) by bicycles, due to the restrictions placed upon them by the clothing of the era, are also highlighted.

A final subtle theme bought out in the play is the way in which young women emigrated to countries like Canada to marry. As Nellie's best friend Effie leaves to marry it is not clear if this is to somebody she knew or whether her family has arranged it. The ambiguity is a device this play uses to great effect.

The production was extremely well cast and their singing was excellent. Erienne Kate Barr gave a strong performance as did the other cast members but the most striking performance came from Georgia Tillery who was also in Your Loving Brother Albert. She has a strong stage presence and somewhat dominated the stage in Nellie.

The second of these community plays was Your Loving Brother Albert also devised by Roy Nevitt which was first performed in the Stantonbury Drama Studio in 1980. The play follows the story of a young man who would be what a recent TV documentary described as one of the Teenage Tommies. Albert French (Charlie Woolford) joined the Army in 1915 and died in the trenches a week before his seventeenth birthday. He is one of those remembered on the war memorial in the Anglican church in Wolverton, a short walk from where the play was being performed. The play is derived from the letters sent home by Private French to his sister, May (Georgia Tillery), which can be read on the MK Heritage website.

The play is also a musical but rather than the cast singing the music came from the band who were Shahnaz Hussain, Brad Bradstock and Dave Crawford. The folk songs which helped tell the story were performed to the same high standard as I have heard from any act at Cambridge Folk Festival or The Stables.

I would challenge anybody to watch Your Loving Brother Albert and not be moved. Seeing a young man in uniform tell the story of what began as an adventure and ended as a tragedy is poignant enough. However, when it is acted as well as Charlie Woolford did with the soundtrack accompanying it the events become even more moving and striking.

The set designed by Kevin Jenkins, which included photographs of the time projected into the background, also added to the gentle but moving atmosphere, making it feel far more like a real theatre than a school hall.

At the end of the production a poem was read which highlighted the way in which the official records had sought to cover up the fact Albert was underage. It also described the way in which historians were able to identify those men from the Wolverton Railway Works who had signed up....they were the ones who are logged as having "left without notice".

The two plays which are being put on as part of the Great War MK project are on at the Radcliffe School Theatre, Wolverton until Saturday 15th November, (when there is also a matinee performance).  If you get the chance to do go and see them because they give a deep and insightful glimpse into Edwardian Britain in this small corner of Buckinghamshire as well as an enjoyable evening out. Tickets are available online.