The Oxford Playhouse has announced the full cast and creative team for its upcoming production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, marking a significant moment in the theatre’s history.
The production represents the Playhouse’s return to in-house production for the first time in more than 20 years and is directed by its Artistic Director, Mike Tweddle. Edward Albee’s landmark drama opens on Friday 20 February and runs until Saturday 7 March.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Oxford Playhouse
- Dates: Fri 20 Feb – Sat 7 Mar
- Age guidance: 14+
- Running time: approx. 3hrs 15mins
- Intervals: two intervals
- Content warning: strong language, violence and adult themes
- Tickets: from £15
Award-winning actor and RSC Associate Artist Katy Stephens will play Martha, a role she is performing for the first time in her career. Her previous stage credits include The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, And Then There Were None and Titus Andronicus. She is joined by Matthew Pidgeon as George, the disillusioned associate professor of history, whose recent work includes Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Wolf Hall.
Set in a fictional New England academic town, Albee’s searing drama finds a particularly resonant setting in Oxford. The play follows Martha, the daughter of the college president where George teaches, who invites a young couple back to her home after a faculty party. What begins as a polite late-night gathering descends into a night of psychological games, secrets and emotional unravelling.
The younger couple are played by Leah Haile as Honey, whose credits include The Winter’s Tale and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Ben Hall as Nick, whose work includes The Day of the Jackal and Henry VI: Rebellion / Wars of the Roses.
This revival marks the play’s return to the Oxford Playhouse stage after 25 years, underlining the significance of the production for the venue.
Artistic Director Mike Tweddle said the play felt uniquely suited to Oxford.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is an extraordinary piece of writing — strange, visceral, darkly funny and emotionally devastating,” he said. “Staging it in Oxford feels uniquely powerful as it’s a story rooted in the tensions and power games of an academic town.
“This production launches a renewed era for Oxford Playhouse, as we begin producing work that is both artistically daring and deeply connected to our community. The play is a storytelling rollercoaster, showcasing everything that great theatre can offer.”
The creative team includes award-winning designer Liz Ascroft, whose career spans more than 40 years and includes The Homecoming and Only Fools and Horses: The Musical. Lighting design is by Ashley Bale and Will Hayman, with sound design and composition by Max Pappenheim.
Ascroft described her approach to the production as placing the audience directly within the drama.
“We, the audience, are most like Nick and Honey — the guests of Martha and George,” she said. “Over the course of an evening, we are invited, taken, dragged and hopefully made to face our own guarded self-perceptions, lies, truths and fears.”
First staged in 1962, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? remains a powerful exploration of marriage, ambition, illusion and truth. The Oxford production coincides with the 60th anniversary of the celebrated film adaptation, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton — both of whom have a historic connection to the city, having appeared at Oxford in the 1966 Oxford University Dramatic Society production of Doctor Faustus, directed by Nevill Coghill.
Tickets for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Oxford Playhouse start from £15.
Booking information is available at https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/.
Accessible and special performances include:
- Sat 28 Feb, 1.15pm: Audio described + touch tour
- Tue 3 Mar, 7pm: Post-show talk
- Wed 4 Mar, 7pm: Captioned + pre-show talk
- Thu 5 Mar, 1.15pm: Captioned performance
