Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

I read this a while back, but its clever lines, deep concepts, and remarkable simplicity still linger in my thoughts. Edward Albee is, hands-down, a genius.

The play takes place within a single evening. Two couples, one young and one middle-aged, get together with the intention of having some fun. Instead, shocking secrets are discovered, unknown resentment is stirred, chaos prevails, and everything is at stake. As the character Martha says, it's difficult to discern truth from illusion.

As in the previously reviewed piece The Pillowman, the characters gradually reveal themselves through their actions and their words,  rather than being spelled out for you right from the start. By the end of the play, the reader feels intimately acquainted with each of them, having seen them at their worst. Edward Albee does a brilliant job making sure that the characters' behaviors are true to their uniquely developed personalities.

The story, too is intricate, yet simple. It's basically four people bitching at one another. Yet there is a rhythm that guides the words, and a structure that guides the story, faint, invisible, but very strong.

Who's Afraid of Virignia Woolf? is a Pulitzer-winning masterpiece that every theatre enthusiast should read or, if you are lucky enough, see. Watch the movie, as well. No matter what form this story takes on, it's just plain incredible in every way.

This is a trailer for the film.

Here is a review of the Broadway revival, and here is another. Here is a review of the film.