Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe

By Edward Albee

HIGH EYEBROW ARCH – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Drama

George (David Whiteley) and Martha (Kat Stewart) are not a happy couple.

They stumble home from a party. Martha literally stumbles in her state of stinking intoxication. George seems more sober but stumbles in face of Martha’s attacks upon him.

With her inhibitions even lower than normal, Martha pokes and prods at George sensibilities; doing her best to find the vulnerable flesh between the chinks in his already rusted armour.

But it’s past two in the morning and George just wants to go to bed.

Suddenly, Martha announces that she is expecting visitors. That nice young couple they met at the faculty party. Nick (Harvey Zielinski) and Honey (Emily Goddard).

The guests arrive. They are stand-offish at first. It is, after all, closing in on 3am. More alcohol is served. Glasses are freshened. Truths are spoken. And slowly, ever so slowly, the friction between George and Martha becomes manifest.

George accuses Martha of being a monster. Martha declares that George is weak and ineffectual.

The only thing that seems to bring them some mutual joy is their son. The following day will herald his 21st birthday. Yet, strangely, George and Martha can’t even seem to agree upon their son’s backstory. From out of the sordid conflict the truth slowly emerges. But even then, there is ambiguity. Yet it is Nick who utters “I think I know what’s going on here”. And it’s only then that the true cause of George and Martha’s deeply shared unhappiness is revealed.

Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

George, Martha and their contemporaries live in a world of man-made illusions.

It’s 1950’s USA. America has won the second world war but the cold war is only just beginning. The threat of nuclear holocaust is ever present. Social mores are changing and everyday living creates anxiety.

In this world, the likes of George and Martha find comfort behind the artifice they have created to protect themselves from their own reality. Or, at least, they try to.

A generation earlier, in the pre-War years, Virginia Woofe had written stories about abandoning illusion and confronting the anxieties of real life.

In this classic play, Edward Albee poses a question in the title. The question is given context early in the first Act. By the end of the third Act, we know the answer.

Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton

What My Eyebrows Told Me

I was engrossed for every minute of this three Act play.  The performances by the leads, Kat Stewart and David Whiteley, were truly extraordinary. 

Kat Stewart has been rightly acclaimed for the depth of her unhinged performance. But I think real-life husband,  David Whiteley, is deserving of equal recognition. His nuanced performance of Charles – and his metamorphosis from apparent punching bag to destroyer of illusions – commanded my attention whenever he was on stage.

But the entire production was terrific. It was dark. It was disturbing. But, oh my, was it compelling!

My eyebrows remained static in a High Arch throughout.

For more information on Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe:

Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Sydney Theatre Company