Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe, The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, March 22- Review

Images by Robert Day

 Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? by playwright Edward Albee arrives at the Crucible Theatre, deftly guided by Director Erica Whyman and at Tuesdays show the cast played out a bitterly hilarious, human and bitingly observant performance that had the audience laughing and gasping with warm applause and cheers.

The play opens in the lounge of George and Martha late at night and finds the couple home after a party. George to his dismay finds that a young couple have been invited as guests and prepares himself with a drink, waiting for the  familiar party games ahead that he and his wife play.

Images by Robert Day

The open lounge stage design by Soutra Gilmour and subtle changes in lighting by Charles Balfour added to the flavour of the drama enhancing  the players expression of the evenings marital horrors  to the full.
Martha played with a delightfully sluttish indifference by Sian Thomas, making lascivious avaricious eyes at young new teacher Nick, played serious, intense and pressurised by John Hopkins. Simultaneously Martha slyly stabs her claws into Nick’s simple unsuspecting wife Honey played innocent naive and giggly by Lorna Beckett.  Martha's main aim is hurling acid tipped needle comments at her inadequate husband George. George old early, grey bypassed history scholar played sour by Jasper Britton responds with florid oratory that rises to the bait of wife Martha's acid banter.

Images by Robert Day

Together this acerbic pair play out their games and brutalise the unsuspecting young couple they've invited over. Sian and Jasper's powerful stage presence and fullness of personality as Martha and George drew the Crucible audience in to compelling changing human emotions as the pair struggled in battle for supremacy.
You sense George is weary with the games as he shuffles stooped and shrunken around the lounge but his weakness is a sham as he exorcises an icy revenge on Martha in the plays climax.
Behind the veil of contempt there remains real affection between Martha and George and both Sian Thomas and Jasper Britton within their acidly witty exchanges and beautifully insinuated human gestures, which peel away the social niceties and into the raw realities of their existence yet nevertheless allow us glimpses of their underlying, love and loyalty. The stories drama is  guided by Erica Whyman’s assured sensitive direction allowing the blending between comedy and drama, and makes us appreciate every minute of a wittily funny, mostly cruel, occasionally tender night which at the plays end earned the cast a warm enthusiastic applause and loud cheers.

Just the way Theatre should be- go see this play, you won’t be disappointed.
Andrew Sugden
YorkshireGigGuide

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe is on at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield- Wednesday 16 March to Thursday 07 April 2011

To book on the phone, please call 0114 249 6000 or book in-person at the Box Office, situated in the Crucible Theatre.

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