Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Albee. The master of absurdist dramaturgy created a psychological drama that became an absolute hit of Broadway in the sixties (Tony Award for Best Play in 1963) and is still one of the most staged plays. The film based on it, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, won five Oscars.

George and Martha are a distinguished professorial couple, somewhat oddball, with family ties at a college in the northeastern United States. Their overnight guests, a young biology professor Nick and his wife Honey, find themselves in an ethical bind. They become unwitting participants in a series of disgusting domestic scenes. The confused logic of a drunken, aggressive conversation leads each of the characters to their own existential woes. The night is young, and it will feature a sea of ​​whiskey, mutual accusations, adultery, a gunshot, and a revelation of a frightening secret.

"The characters in the play are trying to stir themselves to life, to revive their relationships and not let their feelings atrophy," says director Danil Chashchin. "But where is the limit of what is permissible in this process? After all, if one doesn't stop in time, it can lead to fatal consequences. The actions of Martha and George are reminiscent of the behavior of porcupines, who huddle together to keep warm from the cold, but as they do it, they are killing each other with their spines."

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is Danil Chashchin's second production at the Theatre of Nations. The first one, Living T., was staged in 2021. "Unlike the Living T., there won't be such a density of visual directorial decisions here," says Chashchin. "This is a play in which the main attraction is the interaction of the actors with each other. And our cast is excellent." The role of George is played by People's Artist of Russia Evgeny Mironov, the role of Martha is played by Honored Artist of Russia Agrippina Steklova. The roles of Nick and Honey are played by Alexander Novin and Maria Smolnikova.

We would like to thank Dana Khamitova and Irina Gross for their help and advice.