Review: WHO IS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? at Grand Théâtre

Last week, we had the pleasure of attending the première of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Grand Théâtre of Luxembourg. This German language version, directed by K.D. Schmidt, was a joint production between Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and the Staatstheater Mainz, featuring performers from both countries.

The play focuses on four characters, as they meet for drinks after a university faculty party. Martha (Anna Steffens) and George (Luc Feit) are a dysfunctional and bitter middle-aged couple. At Martha’s suggestion, Nick (Benjamin Kaygun) and Honey (Jil Devresse) are invited over after the academic event for what could have been a friendly get-together. Having recently moved into the area, the younger couple soon realizes that instead of an opportunity to make new acquaintances, the night has in store quite a good deal of toxic marital taunting and passive-aggressiveness. As alcohol starts to play a trick on all four, secrets are shared, intentions revealed and dreadful confessions made.

While George is already in itself a remarkable character with multiple layers of humour that allow an actor to shine, Luc Feit unquestionably rocked the stage. The sarcastic delivery was absolutely on point, but Feit did not just limit his acting to well-timed comedy. George’s toxicity and personal depth was present in every line, humorous or not, which allowed many of the darker revelations to hit you from a profoundly uncomfortable angle.

Steffens gave us a formidable display of range. Martha seemed at all times so tangled in a web of unhappiness and fake care for social interactions that the instances when she sough to display joy felt profoundly artificial. This in itself was a marvellous thing to watch and it was quite hard to tell which acting was better - Martha genuinely expressing misery, or Martha visibly failing to act happy.

The eccentric nature of the middle-aged couple on stage tended to steal some attention from the younger pair, who still managed, nonetheless, to stand out on multiple occasions. Kaygun’s great delivery was mostly conducted through facial expressions, body language and especially the words that Nick Clearly thought, but chose to euphemize. As for Devresse, her character came to you in waves. Honey’s reaction to the constant drinking was the most extreme of the group, taking her from a seemingly nice preppy girl to an out of control expressive mess with a string of dark secrets, easily alternating between the two.

Clearly a show worth checking and one that we hope remains available for a while.

As usual, our thanks to the Grand Théâtre and everyone involved.

To reach out to the writer: nuno.de.sousa.lopes@gmail.com

Photo Credit: Andreas Etter