REVIEW: Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Image: Brandon McClelland & Genevieve Lemon.
Photo: Prudence Upton
Edward Albee’s excoriating script in this landmark 1962 play heralded a dramatic shift not only in the subject matter of American stage plays but also in the very language itself.
Middle-aged married couple George and Martha return from a college party in the early hours of the morning and spend much of the action pacing around the set tearing strips off one another with all the ferocity of caged animals.
George is an academic in the history faculty and Martha is the daughter of the college president, and their exchanges are as painful as they are witty.
The “fun” escalates rapidly when they are joined by young professor Nick and his wife Honey, who are cajoled, threatened and bullied into joining George and Martha’s dangerous inebriated games, which eventually lead to the collapse of all semblance of civility among the four.
Genevieve Lemon is an arresting Martha, spitting chips while simultaneously revealing her vulnerabilities even as she is attacking others in her sights.
Darren Gilshenan’s George stood up to Martha in the only way he knew, with sarcasm, biting wit and a world weariness that suggested he was ready to give up the whole charade.
As Nick and Honey respectively, Brandon McClelland and Claire Lovering show how easily the veneer of courtesy and breeding can be torn away.
Director Iain Sinclair elicits impressive performances from all four actors, while Michael Hankin has created the perfect set for this piece, including the lounge suite (which I recognized as being a duplicate of my own). Lighting designer Sian-James Holland throws a subtle spotlight on the action.
Well worth a visit to see a restaging of this powerful play.
Until Jun 18, Various performance times. Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street Kirribilli. $34-$71. Tickets & Info: www.ensemble.com.au
Review by Irina Dunn.
