Last night Stuart & I went to see acerbic masterpiece Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? directed by Marianne Elliot @sohoplace theatre in London's glitzy West End.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1962 play by Edward Albee that examines the breakdown of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, history professor George (Billy Crudup) & his wife Martha (Gillian Anderson).
In the early hours of the morning on campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited new professor Nick (Josh Dylan) & his wife Honey (Phoebe Horn) to their home for some after-party drinks. As the alcohol flows & dawn approaches, the young couple are drawn into George & Martha’s toxic games until the evening reaches its climax in a moment of devastating truth telling.
Martha & George's tempestuous & volatile relationship is unsettling but fascinating to watch. Their truth is cruel & vicious. It's about as far away from the American happy nuclear family as you could imagine.
Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton famously bought the play to the big screen in 1966. And although Taylor's Oscar winning performance initially loomed large in our thoughts last night the evening belonged to Gillian Anderson. Her Martha was almost feline as she spat out her lines. Her Martha was a cat trapped. A cat with its fur up. A cat on a hot tin Woolf.
The ghost of Taylor after all.
Highly recommended. If you can get a ticket! And can cope with the 3hrs 30mins running time, including an interval.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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