Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Revised by the Author (Penguin plays) (Lansdowne Lectures, A-Level Series: English, v. 11: AE11) (Scribner Classics)

by Edward Albee

A bitter marriage unravels in Edward Albee's darkly humorous play—winner of the Tony Award for Best Play.

“Twelve times a week,” answered actress Uta Hagen when asked how often she’d like to play Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In the same way, audiences and critics alike could not get enough of Edward Albee’s masterful play. A dark comedy, it portrays husband and wife George and Martha in a searing night of dangerous fun and games. By the evening’s end, a stunning, almost unbearable revelation provides a climax that has shocked audiences for years. With its razor-sharp dialogue and the stripping away of social pretense, Newsweek rightly foresaw Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as “a brilliantly original work of art—an excoriating theatrical experience, surging with shocks of recognition and dramatic fire [that] will be igniting Broadway for some time to come.”

• ISBN10: 0451218590
• ISBN13: 9780451218599
• Publish Date: 1 August 2006 (first published 1 January 1962)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451218599

Reviews

Honestly, reading this play made me feel anxious. It was fast paced and verging on the edge of madness. They're all batshit crazy and very unlikeable. Apparently it's a classic for portraying a darker side of romantic relationships on stage and the inner secrets of a marriage - and at the time it undoubtedly would've been groundbreaking to confront the idea that marriages were more than the facade presented to the public. But while I can appreciate that it was scandalous at the time, it's hard to remember that when pretty much all you see these days are divorces, split families and mental breakdowns. 1.5 stars, rounded up to 2 for appreciating that it was radical and trailblazing at the time.