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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Love wrapped in barbed wire
Battle lines: James Weetman (left) as George and Jean Wilde as Martha ready to open hostilities with Rachael Louise Pickhard as Honey and Oliver Harvey-Vallender as the never named Nick as hapless spectators Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Hall Green Little Theatre ***** EDWARD Albee's 1962 dark, uncomfortable, at times funny dissection of a marriage is a landmark of modern theatre. Fifty years on, even set in the 60s, it is still
contemporary, still able to shock, able to make you squirm, think and
even laugh, yet behind all the vicious barbs, verbal assaults and
downright contempt shown between George and Martha, the marriage
disected with the precision of a surgeon's knife, it is
still essentially a love story. One of the key scenes in this monster of a play
is the final one when the guests have gone, or at least retreated to the
safety of their home, and George and Martha are left alone, the battle
over, at least for that drunken night. Too often this is left as a lifeless scene with
the two protagonists, exhausted after a night of fighting, merely
calling a quiet truce but director Roy Palmer stays true to the cause
showing us this is a couple that despite their tempestuous, venomous
marriage, are still very much in love. George is an associate professor in the history
department at New Carthage, a small East Coast university. He is not the
history department, not the head as his wife Martha, daughter of the
college president tells him and anyone else who will listen. The play depends upon the warring pair and in the
red corner we have George played by James Weetman as a jaundiced 40
something whose only pleasure is playing word games and mind games with
Martha –anyone else nearby just becomes target practice and collateral
damage. He is more of a counter puncher when it comes to Martha but ne
than happy to go on the attack against guests Meanwhile in the blue corner we have Martha,
played by Jean Wilde, who is an aggressive fighter, always on the font
foot to poke fun and scorn at what she sees as her failure of her
husband. Weetman and Wilde are just stunning in the roles
and you have to pinch yourself to remember that his is not a
professional production. Through them you can sense George's anger and
share Martha's pain and anguish, feel all their hurt and reel from the
aggression. The couple, who, incidentally, have the same
names as George Washington and his wife, arrive home from one of
“daddy's faculty evenings” a little the worse for wear and as George
pours the first or what will be many drinks Martha announces she has
invited guests back, Nick, a new biology professor that Martha is
convinced is in the math department, and his wife honey. Nick has the distinction of being the only
character whose name is never mentioned in the play. Without a
programme we would never know who he is. Whether that is just one of
those things, a quirk of writing or an intentional move to show who he
is hardly matters in the skirmish that follows only Albee knows.
Oliver Harvey-Vallender gives a fine performance
as the former college quarterback and boxing champ from small town
Midwest who finds himself with a ringside seat along with wife Honey,
played by Rachael Louise Pickhard. Rachael has a difficult role as the
non-too-bright Honey, naive daughter of a preacher man, who is seeing
life through a blur of brandy. She is insignificant, used or should that
be abused by George merely to antagonise Nick or Martha; on her own she
is not seen as worthy to be graced by his prodigious talent to hurt. She
is out of her depth from the moment her slim hips walk her in;
inconsequential it not the easiest role to play so it is to her credit
we noticed her not being noticed if you see what I mean. Nick and Honey start off as spectators but Nick
starts to be drawn into the marital melee until he even thinks he can
not only compete but even challenge the big hitters – big mistake. This
is not boys against men, it is toddlers against men. He is seduced by Martha, which is merely a more
physical form of humiliation for him and another way to hurt George. George has his revenge though as he unleashes all
the ammunition he has collected through the night to batter Nick into
submission. And George is not finished there, landing the
body blows to win the bout against Martha by a knockout in the dramatic
finale. It all takes place in the fragile hours before
dawn when imagination battles with reality and amid the brandy, gin,
bourbon and bile we are never sure what is truth and what is fancy as
George and Martha peel off layer after layer to reveal pictures of their
lives and marriage. It is not all angst and aggression though, there
is also humour, dark as night, but still funny for all that, all on a
simple set designed by the director. We have two settees and a chair to leave George
and Martha sat yards apart at either side of the stage with Nick and
Honey sitting in the middle as spectators watching the salvos fly
overhead and taking damage whenever a shell drops short either by
intention or accident. If there is a fault it is a five minute break at
the end of act one when George is left meandering aimlessly around the
dimmed stage with the house lights still off and the audience unsure
whether to stay or leave – make it ten minutes and let ‘em go out or at
least talk. This is an outstanding production of an
outstanding play and really does deserve a larger audience than it
attracted on the first night. In my first ever review of Who's afraid of
Virginia Woolfe I described it as a love story wrapped in barbed wire
and my opinion has never changed. Forget the play's reputation as heavy going, as
being worthy but dull, and certainly forget that this is an amateur
production, this is theatre at its best. Performances like this don't
come that often on any stage. To 25-05-13. Roger Clarke |
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