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Trench warfare in marriage
Clare Higgins and Tim Pigott-Smith as the warring couple, Martha and George Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Malvern Theatres
***** WITTY yet disconcerting at the same time,
this famed play of a disfunctional husband and wife's marital breakdown
is completely compelling. You may wince as the middle-aged pair trade
insults and sadistically humiliate each other and the young couple
visiting them, but you also won't be able to look away. Edward Albee's humorous words and characters seem
as fresh today as when the play was created in 1962 but there is the
added bonus of two outstanding actors playing the warring couple. Clare Higgins and Tim Pigott-Smith are sublime in
the roles of eccentric Martha and George - the roles famously played by
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the film version. Then there's Nathan Wiley and Iris Roberts in
support, making it a strong cast all round under the direction of Adrian
Noble. Set during one night on a New England university
campus, George and Martha have invited over new young ambitious
colleague Nick and his wife Honey after a faculty drinks party. Their behaviour gets more and more bizarre over
the three hour play, which reflects badly on all four characters as
their secrets and lies come to the surface. Writer Albee admitted that he got the idea for
the title after seeing graffiti in a bar with the words "Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf". He's subtly weaved those words into the play as every
now and then Martha or Honey will sing those words to the tune of "Who's
Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" It's almost sinister in tone and the
eventual insinuation is that it really related to who's afraid of
"living life without false illusions". It's a bumpy night of salacious yet hysterical
and playful antics. It's almost car crash telly but with a lot more
style. To 12-07-14 Alison Brinkworth 07-07-14
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