A THOUGHTFUL REFLECTION ON ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES IN OUR TIME

By Samara Watts ⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

Albatross confronts climate change after it leaks into a family’s domestic world and literally floods their kitchen.

The play follows climate scientist Alice, played by Caroline Rippen, who returns from a research project in Antarctica to find that things are shifting at home too. Her mother Eve (Agnus Lillis) has barely salvaged their flood-damaged kitchen, has started a relationship with a younger man, Martin (Patrick Morris, who is also the director) and, to Alice’s horror, has booked herself on a cruise to Antarctica. This means she can no longer look after Alice’s young daughter, Alba, whose cries are heard throughout the play but who remains out of sight.

The play is most compelling when it focuses on the three generations of women dealing with climate change. The mother and daughter’s verbal sparring about climate responsibility becomes inseparable from their arguments about motherhood. Eve gave up her dreams of becoming a dancer after having a child at 25; Alice, meanwhile, is monitoring icebergs across the world instead of taking care of her own daughter.

This tension culminates in a moment of shock brilliance: Alice tips vanilla ice cream out onto the table to demonstrate the severity of cracks in the icebergs. It is absurd and messy and fun to watch.

At times, the script risks reducing its characters to familiar types: Eve as the stubborn climate sceptic, Alice as a vessel for climate activism. But Lillis plays Eve with a weathered warmth, and Rippen brings a refreshing self-awareness to Alice.

The set, designed by Chris Dobrowolski, cleverly brings together the conflict between the family and the global climate crisis. A stuffed albatross sits conspicuously in the corner, symbolising both the burden of guilt and the freedom of journeys (nod to Coleridge). It lights up when characters move near it, becoming an uneasy reminder of the issues they would rather avoid. Images of icebergs are projected on a sheet at the back of the kitchen, bringing Antarctica into the cramped domestic space.

Not everything lands. Martin functions as comic relief, but an awkward kiss between him and Alice edges towards melodrama without being properly developed. The production also takes on a great deal: climate collapse, motherhood, the role of women, grief, romance, and generational guilt. At times, the focus drifts.

Still, Albatross is a thoughtful reflection on one of the most pressing issues in our time. By filtering the vastness of climate change through one fractured family in a damaged kitchen, it brings the climate crisis unsettlingly close to home.

WEBSITE

⭐⭐⭐

Photo Credit: Ashley Day