Virginia Woolf Revival Heads to West End with Broadway Cast

The recent Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is moving to London with its New York cast intact. The show, which stars Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin and is directed by Anthony Page, is set to begin previews at the Apollo Theatre on January 20.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a caustic look at marriage and dysfunctional relationships. In addition to Turner and Irwin, Mireille Enos and David Harbour star. All four actors received Tony nominations for their work in the drama, with Irwin picking up the Tony for Best Actor in a Play.

This revival opened at Broadway's Longacre Theatre on March 20 to mostly rave reviews after a Boston tryout. In his Broadway.com Review of the production, Eric Grode wrote: "Given Irwin's physical gifts and Turner's brassy, blowzy persona, George and Martha could easily have lapsed into milquetoast and virago modes, respectively, and it is to Page's credit that this never happens… Turner gives an empathic, surprisingly gentle performance: This Martha is certainly capable of inflicting serious harm, but she shows a maternal side toward all three other characters, making the inevitable attacks that much more painful. Similarly, Irwin shows the tightly repressed violence of a man who has learned to live almost entirely within his own head for protective purposes. Irwin, whose resume includes several plays by Albee's spiritual godfather Samuel Beckett, clearly relishes creating a character through words instead of movement."

Despite the positive critical reception, the show struggled at the box office, ending its Broadway run on September 4 after eight previews and 177 performances on the Great White Way.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will officially open in the West End on January 31.