Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? review – Gillian Anderson fights tooth and nail in marital meltdown

Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup are appearing together in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at @sohoplace in London. The production is directed by Marianne Elliott and presents Albee’s 1962 play about an unhappy marriage and the illusions surrounding it.

Anderson plays Martha, a frustrated wife, while Crudup plays George, a middle-aged history professor. The review describes the pair as confident performers and says their casting reflects their stage backgrounds, countering objections to the use of screen actors in West End productions.

The production is built around repeated verbal clashes between its central couple. Anderson and Crudup are described as “shouty and jousting,” with no shortage of sparring between them. The review compares some of the comedy to the television sitcom George and Mildred.

The review also says the central relationship does not initially feel dangerous or emotionally devastating enough, describing the sparks between the actors as present but slower to become fully eviscerating. Albee’s play was previously immortalised on screen by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.