CRUELTY, manipulation and stifling regret reign supreme in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? catching protagonists at every turn as they attempt to undercut one another.

At the heart of the swinging sixties, not all is what it appears for George, a history professor (Tim Pigott-Smith) and Martha (Clare Higgins), his wife and daughter of the college president - an apparently loving couple in their fifties.

Returning home from a college party held by her father, the pair are soon joined for a nightcap by a recently-hired biology professor, Nick and his ditsy and apparently socially inept wife Honey , whom George and Martha are under strict instruction by ‘the president’ to impress.

This already awkward set-up is only made worse for the uncomfortable guests as alcohol loosens Martha and George’s tongues and they embark on a verbal sparring match, spewing abuse at each other and revealing their most unspeakable secrets one after another.

Soon, Honey and Nick themselves get caught up in the web of recriminations, barely veiled insinuations and flat-out accusations, and follow suit, showing the cracks in their relationship and the fragile foundation of their marriage.

But reducing the play to a tale of marital feuds would not doing this multi-layered production justice as bitterness and disdain do not succeed in covering up the deep affection and strong bond forged on years of hardship between Martha and George. In spite of George’s failure to run the History department or gain his father-in-law’s favour, or Martha’s philandering, their need for each other is plain to see.

Albee’s wit and acerbic mastery are tough and demand a great cast to rise to the challenge of portraying complex and ever-changing – might I say borderline bipolar - characters.

And without a doubt Tim Pigott-Smith, Clare Higgins, Nathan Wiley, and Iris Roberts hit the right tone, playing off each other with ease and never allowing the audience to become too comfortable.

Tim Pigott- Smith is simply mesmerising as George, a man whose hopes of a successful career were dashed early on and who lives in the shadow of his father-in-law – but with a quick wit and a knack for double-entendre . Clare Higgins’s charismatic portrayal of Martha, a woman who has enshrouded herself in a web of illusions to keep pain and regret at bay is extremely poignant.

As for Iris Roberts, the young Honey who cannot handle her brandy, she brings a much welcome touch of humour and near farce to an intense production.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Bath Theatre Royal is a gem which should not be missed. And for those of you, who like me, were very afraid of Virginia Woolf at university do not be mislead by the title and dare to enter Albee’s murky world.

 

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is on until Saturday, July 5.