Sylvaine Strike talks about directing Edward Albee’s iconic play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, telling BEVERLEY BROMMERT it is both “a beast and a feast”:
As she embarks on the pre-production phase of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, noted director Sylvaine Strike (pictured left) defines this immensely challenging work as “a beast to tame and a feast to savour”, given the density of its intellectual content and the richness of its text.
The adjective “lupine” also comes to mind, as there is a wolfish quality to the behaviour of the play’s leads, equally discernible in the voyeurism of an audience privy to the drunken games enacted before its eyes.
In keeping with the tradition of absurdist drama, this, Albee’s first and arguably finest work, flouts the convention of plot development (start, middle and end). Instead, it traces a relentless, unending circle of repetition and reprise, the increasing desperation of which is neutralized by mordant humour.
“It is voraciously hilarious,” comments Strike, whose admiration for Albee is inspired by the calibre of his writing. “He is a great wordsmith; his script captures all the cruelty and essential truth of human beings, and has a rhythm to be respected and obeyed.” She asserts that it is not the director’s place to tamper with so sublime a text. Rather, it is an obligation to bring it to life.
“Flying off the page”
The quartet of actors she has chosen to this end are already, at this early stage of preparation, “flying off the page” (her phrase) as they tackle the preliminary reading of the play.
Senior protagonists Alan Committie (George), and Robyn Scott (Martha) share a long history with Strike, since they were all students together in the UCT Drama School. This production is a heaven-sent opportunity to renew acquaintance while collaborating in its staging.
“Alan and I feel Theatre on the Bay is the ideal venue for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? because apart from its intimacy, its proscenium arch is perfect for presenting a play akin to a puppet show, entertainment to view in the confines of a box set. George and Martha are a very theatrical couple …”
She is referring to the playful, Punch-and-Judyesque violence driving the interaction of the alcohol-sodden pair.
Committie and Scott have all the qualities requisite to master the tricky synthesis of despair and humour that give Albee’s work its distinctive resonance. “They both have funny-bones as well as a deep understanding of the human condition”, she remarks appreciatively. “They are fully rounded actors…”
The disintegration of the Great American Dream
This production will feature American accents as a nod to Albee’s motive in naming the leads George and Martha (as in Washington, symbolic parents of America). This 20th century couple’s failed marriage is a metaphor evoking the disintegration of the Great American Dream, well begun and ending badly.
The action unfolds in a space free from all but the minimum of concrete props: no book-lined walls in a lounge here. Working in an abstract as opposed to a realistic context allows one to focus more intently on the words of the text while providing a creative challenge to the audience’s imagination.
Strike believes that this Albee masterpiece has endured because it is about human relationships, a topic transcending time and space – the perfect play to introduce a new generation of theatregoers to great 20th century drama.
What: Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf
Where and when:
Cape Town: Theatre on the Bay from Friday 16 September to Saturday 8 October 2022
Johannesburg: Pieter Toerien’s Montecasino Theatre in Fourways from Friday 14 October to Sunday 6 November 2022
Tickets: Computicket
WS
