One evening. Two couples. No place to hide.
Welcome to the small hours at George and Martha’s – the alcohol is flowing, the gloves are off, and the games are just getting started.
Edward Albee’s multi award-winning play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a wild, gripping and darkly funny exploration of the lies we tell to protect ourselves.
Disillusioned university professor George and his wife Martha invite an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, into their home. It’s not long before things spiral, dragging everyone into the heart of a tempestuous relationship. What starts as a spur of the moment nightcap turns into psychological show down.
Edward Albee’s masterpiece of raw intensity and searing insight is directed by Oxford Playhouse Artistic Director Mike Tweddle. Don’t miss one of the most explosive nights in modern theatre.
We sat down with Mike Tweddle to learn more about the production.
What inspired you to want to direct a new production of the play?
I’ve wanted to direct it for nearly 30 years! There is no other play like it. It’s wildly entertaining, emotionally profound and audacious in its theatricality. If we do it well, it will offer audiences an experience that feels deeply alive and surprising.
I’ve wanted to direct it for nearly 30 years! There is no other play like it. It’s wildly entertaining, emotionally profound and audacious in its theatricality. If we do it well, it will offer audiences an experience that feels deeply alive and surprising.
Could you give us a glimpse into your vision for this iconic play?
One aspiration is for us to create as immersive an experience as possible. The play masquerades as a ‘fourth wall’ piece, but Albee frequently departs from naturalism in his writing. The characters, whilst deeply human, are also highly theatrical: aware of and implicating their audience as they shed light on more universal ideas. So I hope the audience will feel increasingly included in the atmospheres and emotions of the evening as it escalates.
When staging a classic play like this, how do you approach bringing your own stamp on to the work?
We are treating the script like a piece of new writing: assuming nothing, and investigating it as if it had never been performed. So whilst I have no idea where we’ll end up, given there are so many possible directions and decisions to take, I know it will be uniquely ours.
The characters of George and Martha are so well known. How do you approach portraying their intense relationship?
George and Martha are perhaps best known through the film version, whereas we have the rare privilege of creating them in live form. Intensity is the word! My approach will be to work with Katy and Matthew, two extraordinary actors at the top of their game, to find what is most at stake and alive for them in these characters.
With the integration of humour in a dark narrative, how do you balance these elements in your direction?
I increasingly believe that directing is about bringing as little of your personal identity to the work as possible, and instead cultivating deep curiosity for what the words and actors are offering. Albee’s writing expertly balances hatred and cruelty with humour and love, and in doing so reveals the opposing forces that jostle for space in us all. We will strive to do justice to this.
What makes this production special to you and to the Oxford Playhouse?
This is our first in-house production of a drama for more than a decade, and so it marks a special moment for us. It’s the beginning of a journey which will see more great plays getting made in Oxford, taking The Playhouse back to its routes as a regional theatre with a national reputation.
How does this production fit in with the ethos of the work you want to stage at Oxford Playhouse?We want to stage productions which feel thrillingly alive, and which explore the most important questions about how we live our lives. We’re interested, also, in stories which cultivate connection with different people, places and times. Albee’s play embodies all of these aims.
What was the first piece of theatre you remember having a big impact on you?
My mum took me to London when I was a teenager to see the first ever production of Blood Brothers. I was totally bowled over and felt this is a world I want to be part of.
What do you hope audiences take away from seeing this show?
I hope you’ll feel moved and exhilarated, if we’ve done our job. You may also feel motivated to drink less alcohol than these characters, which can only be a good thing!
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf runs at Oxford Playhouse from Friday 20th February until Saturday 7th March. Tickets are available from https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/edward-albees-whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf
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