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An evening of all the emotions
### I was lucky enough to get a ticket to see the wonderful Gillian Anderson on stage last night, in a performance of ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?’
It was at the newish Sohoplace and organised in the round. After grabbing a drink with my friend at the theatre bar, and some small talk about the evening ahead, we took our seats, in no way prepared for what was to follow.
Neither of us had seen the play before and I had only the vaguest notions about the central premise. What we experienced was three and a half hours of brutal emotional workout, feeling everything on the continuum from joy through to dread.
With just four - extremely volatile - characters, taking place after an already long house party, the drinks trolley fuels a combination of emotional manipulation, bullying, attempted seduction and coercive control. The laughs are lovely and sprinkled throughout, but the overwhelming theme is simple… broken humans.
I left the performance extremely impressed by the incredible Gillian Anderson, but also slightly shell-shocked. Each character goes through the wringer, each is built up and pulled down, and each leaves the stage an exhausted and worn-out version of themselves.
Add to this an incredible revolving set and stellar performances from the rest of the cast and you have a powerful night at the theatre. I’d definitely recommend it, despite the duration. Just make sure you eat beforehand and take advantage of the interval when it comes!