A 1960s classic drama unfolds in Wokingham this week.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, by American playwright Edward Albee, takes its audience on a late night journey of drunken sparring, as small college professor George, and his wife Martha, take turns to twist the verbal knife on each other.
They are observed, and occasionally assisted in their cruel charade, by newlyweds Nick and Honey, a young couple whom George and Martha have invited home for after-college-party drinks.
If they were expecting a civilised nightcap, Nick and Honey soon discover they are instead in for a bumpy ride.
Drinks flow, inhibitions collapse, and long-buried secrets are dragged remorselessly into the light.
It’s a play that offers an unusual mixture of heartbreaking tragedy and intense humour.
“Albee’s writing captures authentic characters, who make you want to laugh and cry at the same time,” said director Sophie Earle-Thorpe.
“George and Martha are loud and extravagant.
“Their marriage appears to be toxic, but they share an indestructible love for each other, and there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other.”
Traditional newly-weds Nick and Honey, on the other hand, seem to be launching into a marriage that is unstable, unsupportive, and insincere.
The play was widely heralded in the 1960s as one of the most important American plays ever written, and its film debut starred real life sparring lovers Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
For both couples the stakes are high, and throughout the evening all four characters must navigate a perfect storm of powerful dynamics.
Wokingham audiences can see it play out every evening, at Wokingham Theatre (with the exception of Sunday) until Saturday, May 9.
The bar is open from 7pm, with performances at 7.45pm.
Tickets cost £16.
For tickets and information, visit: wokinghamtheatre.org.uk
