The Curious Case of Albert Cashier

The talented cast and crew involved with Quintessance Theatre are proud to present ‘The Curious Case of Albert Cashier’ in the Civic Theatre, writes Ryan Butler.

Set in Illinois’s Belvidere, in 1862, young Irishman Albert D.J. Cashier joins the Union Army during the Civil War and goes on to receive numerous honours.

Private Cashier, though, is engaged in a personal conflict that none of his teammates are aware of.

When Cashier is fifty years old, a dishonest doctor tells the whole of America that he was born in Clogherhead, Co Louth, Ireland, under the name Jennie Hodgers, and that he was assigned female at birth.

Albert’s struggle for identity, self-worth, and the truth becomes his greatest battle from that point forward.

In this brand-new production that the company created, Quintessence Theatre dramatises the extraordinary true story of the Clogherhead-born transgender soldier using cutting-edge physical ensemble storytelling techniques combined with spectacular projection and moving music.

This exhilarating, moving, and frequently humorous production, directed by Anna Simpson (a Creative Associate of the Pleasance Theatre, London, and Practitioner with Shakespeare’s Globe), unearths a gem of a tale about a forgotten hero of Irish history and explores urgent modern questions about gender, self-determination, and human tenacity, paralleling the struggles of the transgender community today.

Quintessence Theatre is committed to examining the human condition using the most theatrical tools at its disposal, including the actor’s own creativity and acceptance of the in-person interaction between performer and audience.

The Arts Council of Ireland has generously financed the national tour of The Curious Case of Albert Cashier, which was developed in collaboration with the Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda.

‘The Curious Case of Albert Cashier’ will be performed in the Civic Theatre at 8pm on September 20.

Tickets are €20 and €22.

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