Review: WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Sets Hearts & Brains Racing at Greek Theatre

Is there a force as destructive as dissatisfaction? Is love a truth or illusion? What price pride? Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Theatron Group has drawn together a cast of Herculean performance strength to answer these questions in this revival of Edward Albee's iconic 1962 drawing-room drama upon which many shows since have built their own couples-carnage, domestic-discord, mind game madness. Tucked away in the Marrickville Addison Rd community complex, Greek Theatre is an unassuming space, but perfect for the intimate and volatile story made all the more famous in the 1966 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. George and Martha, an esteemed but emotionally deranged couple, invite their collegiate colleagues Nick and Honey for a 2am drink, entrenching the young newlyweds in their damaged relationship and sordid pasts. Witty repartee swiftly becomes drunk abandon and before the sun rises, a bloodbath of delusion and disappointment. The story is compelling, violent and arousing in every sense.

The cast were clearly well studied, and committed to completion of character and circumstance alike. Deborah Galanos is equal parts gripping and dripping in her portrayal of Martha, commanding of space and personality, authentic in her fragilities that are unmistakably reminiscent of Vivien Leigh or Taylor herself. Nicholas Papademitriou is perfectly matched to Galanos' power and animism, himself able to transfer between cruel intellect and undignified brutality with plausibility and genuinely unnerving vocal palpitating. Adele Querol was comedy genius as Honey, able to disarm with sweet naiveté that transitioned into complete inebriation convincingly in its gradient of slurring, uneasy laughter and unpredictability. Christian Charisiou's Nick on the other hand changed from sincere good-guy to pompous and lecherous ass in more fits and starts which jarred in some moments but on the whole betrayed a plausible decision, whether directorial or not, to make his characterisation the boldest manipulation on stage. Each actor held their corners of tension and derision at the brink of ripping point from start to finish.

It would be possible for a production of such quality performance to dispense with as much attention to detail, but when the producers are the lead actors assisted by Cat Dibley, these were flawless. John Pryce-Jones' set concept allowed for prowling and seeing the drama from every angle. Set pieces became silent but accusatory accomplices in many of the exchanges. Alistair Wallace's sound design brought a rich and bawdy energy through the experience, with a Shazam-worthy score. Martin Kinnane's lighting design very cleverly muted or over-exposed certain moments to level the drama down to dirge or up to desperation where the character needed to travel.

Opening night was not without its fair share of mishaps beyond the expected cue-stepping, but the cast were clearly versed for improvisation and stability beneath the fraught narrative to hold the reality for the audience spectacularly. Commendably, the production made much use of the more intellectual moments as well as the emotional. Discussions about genetic tampering, scholastic elitism and bourgeois notions of marriage gave the play all the more relevance and power to carry through three acts without any lagging in energy or tumult.

Do not spare yourself a seat at the table. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is precisely the kind of theatre Sydney has become famous for, and with the kind of precise production value deserving of full houses at the wharf. Raw emotion, gut-busting comedy, and a plot to activate your heartbeat and brainwaves all at once. Five stars.

Tickets available here.

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