When Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? glides onto the stage later this month it will be the first Oxford Playhouse in-house production for 20 years.
But thanks to Playhouse artistic director and CEO Mike Tweddle, Edward Albee‘s glorious American domestic drama will once again take centre stage and looks set to be an unmissable production.
‘it’s incredibly entertaining, very funny, deeply moving and dazzlingly witty. But it’s also a deeply intimate and disturbing portrayal of marriage’
Perhaps you watched the film starring Hollywood icons Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as acrimonious husband and wife George and Martha in the Oscar winning 1966 film? Either way, the story plays out on an American campus as the married couple return home after a drinks party with their newfound, much younger friends Nick and Honey for a nightcap.
But as the alcohol flows, the spontaneous soiree descends into an evening of home truths, explosive conversations and momentous revelations, ensuring that life will never be the same again.
Dynamite then? “It’s one of the greatest pieces of dramatic writing ever written,” Mike explains, when describing why he picked Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for his debut directorship at Oxford Playhouse. “It gives us the opportunity to bring a really palpable and multi-layered theatrical experience to the stage, but we have total faith in our amazing cast, and team, to bring this seismic play to Oxford and do it justice,” he says.
‘It gives us the opportunity to bring a really palpable and multi-layered theatrical experience to the stage’
What is it he loves so much about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? then? “Well for a start it’s incredibly entertaining, very funny, deeply moving and dazzlingly witty. But it’s also a deeply intimate and disturbing portrayal of marriage with a compelling mix of cruelty and kindness, violence and tenderness, love and indifference, and the audience goes on that journey with them, because it’s so relatable,” Mike adds.
“It’s set against a political landscape of uncertainty when the USSR were winning the space and nuclear race, and civilisation was under threat, so again very accessible at the moment.
Meet Matthew Pidgeon, who’s taking on the role of George, and hugely excited about the project: “They are big shoes to fill but this is an absolute gift of a play. This is why we become actors – to play roles like this,” he says
So when offered the seismic part he says it was a no-brainer. “The script just zips along and when we get together as a cast it just comes alive. So while it’s a massive part, perhaps the biggest I’ve ever had, with a lot of dialogue, it keeps ramping up with such intensity. So I’m up for the challenge because it’s such a moving and exciting piece of writing.”
‘couples know how to get to each other. The same things always crop up and maybe there is a comfort in that’
Despite being happily married for over 20 years himself, Matthew says the script still feels true. “I suppose what I mean, before I get myself in trouble, is that couples know how to get to each other. The same things always crop up and maybe there is a comfort in that.
“The difference is that George and Martha say all the things we don’t say, which is shocking but also kind of cathartic. And there is so much gameplay going on back and forth, verbal barbs, sparring and heavy drinking, that it keeps up the intensity.
“But essentially Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a domestic drama about two couples in one setting and the fireworks that go off over the evening. It’s about pain, loss and love, that we all go through to some extent. But it’s also intergenerational, the feeling that the younger generation is going to oust you, the young hotshots, the knowledge and wisdom of the old ways set against the shiny, new future.
“But that was the pressure of the American Dream with these very gendered roles, and the frustrations that lie within that, so George and Martha’s games are a way of avoiding the hard truths, while being hugely destructive.
‘essentially it’s a domestic drama about two couples in one setting and the fireworks that go off over the evening’
So does Matthew like George? “I do. He is very damaged, harsh and brutish but he can also be kind and humane. Put it this way, everyone will be able to relate to him and Martha, and while this is an exaggerated and grotesque version of a marriage, we can all recognise elements within it – the love and conflict. There are so many questions.”
And having been born in Cambridge in Massachusetts, Matthew’s father an academic at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before they moved to Edinburgh, it’s certainly familiar territory.
As for starring in such a pivotal play for Oxford Playhouse, Matthew says: “Putting on this play here in Oxford, and bringing back in-house productions to the theatre, will be amazing for the city, which makes this even more special.
“But more than that we want people to be sucked in, to go on a journey with George and Martha. So you will laugh, be very moved and thoroughly entertained by Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. It’s going to be a real treat,” he promises.
‘yes we are challenging ourselves, but we aim to enfold the audience into the experience as much as possible’
Mike agrees: “Yes we are challenging ourselves, but we aim to enfold the audience into the experience as much as possible, to exhaust them, rather than being a fly on the wall. So while we are dedicated to preserving the integrity of this story and are taking great care with how we deliver it, what a great opportunity!”
Edward Albee‘s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? runs at Oxford Playhouse from Friday 20 February to Saturday 7 March. https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/edward-albees-whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf
