Everything you need to know about 'Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'

The explosive American drama is back in the West End starring Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup as Martha and George.

Summary

• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is being revived at @sohoplace
• Marianne Elliott directs this exciting West End revival
• Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup star as the warring married couple
• Edward Albee's play also features Phoebe Horn and Josh Dylan

Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup lead the must-see West End revival of Edward Albee’s blistering play at @sohoplace this autumn, playing the warring married couple Martha and George. It promises to be a riveting new version of the classic American play, directed by Marianne Elliott.

Anderson has said she wanted to play Martha “for decades”, and that she’s thrilled Crudup is joining her in the ring as George. The cast also features Josh Dylan and Phoebe Horn as younger couple Nick and Honey. Learn all about the production ahead of planning your trip.

Book Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

What is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? about?

Albee’s play centres on toxic middle-aged couple Martha and George, a history professor and his wife, who invite the unsuspecting Nick and Honey over to their house for a drink following a faculty party. Martha and George then subject their guests to an alarming display of passive-aggressive abuse, as the hosts enact a vicious game that escalates dramatically.

As the night wears on, the increasingly drunk foursome exchange stories about their lives, gradually revealing to the audience, and each other, some of the reasons for their chronic unhappiness.

Who wrote Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The play was written by the great American playwright Edward Albee, a multiple Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner. His other work includes A Delicate Balance, Three Tall Women, The Sandbox, and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?.

When was Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? first performed?

The play had its Broadway premiere in 1962 at the Billy Rose Theatre, starring Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, Melinda Dillon, and George Grizzard, directed by Alan Schneider. It ran for five previews and 664 performances.

The show then transferred to London, where it played at the Piccadilly, Gielgud and Garrick Theatres in the West End, starring Constance Cummings, Ray McAnally, Richard Easton, and Pinkie Johnstone. It has been revived frequently since, and in 1966 Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor starred in an acclaimed film version.

What awards has Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? won?

Albee won the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play, and stars Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill won Tonys for Best Actress and Actor respectively. The 2005 and 2012 revivals on Broadway also won Tony Awards, including for Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor for Tracy Letts, and Best Direction.

The film adaptation won five Oscars: Best Actress for Elizabeth Taylor, Best Supporting Actress for Sandy Dennis, Best Cinematography, Best Black and White Art Direction, and Best Costume Design.

Who are the characters in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The characters in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are:

• George: an associate professor of history at New Carthage University
• Martha: his wife and the daughter of the university’s president
• Nick: a new biology professor at the university
• Honey: Nick’s naïve wife

Where is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? playing?

The show is playing at @sohoplace on Soho Place right in the heart of London’s West End. The theatre has a capacity of 602.

When is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? playing?

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is booking from 21 September to 19 December 2026. Performances take place from Monday to Saturday at 7:00pm, with matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2:00pm.

How long is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The running time of the show is 3 hours, including a 20-minute interval.

Who is in the cast of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? stars Gillian Anderson as Martha and Billy Crudup as George. The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Anderson’s extensive work includes A Streetcar Named Desire, All About Eve, The Crown, The X-Files, and Great Expectations. The Tony and Emmy-winning Crudup’s work includes Almost Famous, The Morning Show, Harry Clarke, and High Noon.

Phoebe Horn, playing Honey, has appeared in stage shows like The Motive and the Cue and Much Ado About Nothing, and TV series such as Call the Midwife. Josh Dylan, playing Nick, has been in movies like H is for Hawk and TV series The Buccaneers and Masters of the Air.

Who is in the creative team of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The production’s director is the Tony and Olivier-winning Marianne Elliott, whose past work includes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, War Horse, Angels in America, and Company.

Set design is by Olivier and Tony-winning Miriam Buether (Stranger Things: The First Shadow), lighting design is by James Farncombe (People, Places and Things), and sound design is by Ian Dickinson (Ballet Shoes).

What are some fun facts about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

• Edward Albee got the idea for the title when he saw the phrase scrawled on a bathroom mirror with soap in a New York bar. It refers to English novelist Virginia Woolf, as well as to the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” from the Disney movie The Three Little Pigs. Albee said it seemed like a typical “university intellectual joke”.

• Albee also revealed that the characters of Martha and George were based on a real-life married couple, his friends and New York socialites Marie Menken and Willard Maas. They were famous for their boozy salons, which would last all night, as well as for their similarly tempestuous relationship.

• Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was selected by the Pulitzer Prize’s drama jury to win the 1963 award. However, the advisory board, who were trustees of Columbia University, refused to grant it the prize because of their concerns with the play’s profane language and sexuality.

• Martha and George are two of the meatiest roles in American drama, but also pretty daunting. As Albee told actor Bill Irwin ahead of the 2005 Broadway revival: “George’s role has as many words as there are in Hamlet, so good luck.”

Main photo credit: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in the West End (Photo courtesy of the production). Inset: Elizabeth Taylor in the film version, Imelda Staunton in the 2017 revival, Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup (Photo courtesy of the movie, photo by Johan Persson, photo courtesy of the production)