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Thalie Theater takes libertieswith `Virginia Woolf'

It will be an evening of mind games when the feisty fictional couple George and Martha take the stage in Thalie Theater Company's English-language staging of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Playwright Edward Albee's play became one of the first American dramas to quash the happily-ever-after facade created by family television sitcoms in the1950s.

The story has survived decades with its drunken banter between the leading husband and wife characters and was made hugely popular by the film adaptation staring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The story takes place at the home of a professor, George, and his wife, Martha. The two have just returned home from a party and are joined by George's young colleague, Nick, and his wife, Honey.

Booze flows and the games begin as the hosts exchange insults and launch personal attacks on their guests. Underlying all the animosity, however, is a secret that fuels their mutual contempt and is revealed in the final act.

The original script is heavy on dialogue with minimal stage action and is lengthy, at just over three hours. Thalie director Daniel Ingi Petursson, however, has condensed his version into two hours.

He has also taken a few liberties with the play to "emphasize the abstract and experiment with the movement on stage," he said. In his words, his version of the show is more of a cross between the story-focused script in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Eugene Ionesco's more experimental play, The Bald Soprano, both of which were previously staged by Thalie.

Petursson formed the Thalie theater troupe in 1997 and since then has brought more than a dozen productions to various venues in Taipei. The company is composed mostly of amateur actors from both the local and foreign communities.

In addition to his latest production, Petursson is currently running an acting workshop every Sunday from 2pm to 6pm. Classes began two weeks ago but newcomers are still welcome to join, he said. For more information on the workshop or to register, contact Daniel at 0955 599 920.

Performance notes:
What: Thalie Theatre Company's staging of Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?
When: March 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 7:30pm
Where: The Critical Point Theatre, Urban Gallery (白水藝文空間) at 2F, 68 Mingle St, Taipei (台北市民樂街68號 2樓).
Tickets: NT$300 at the door or to reserve call Ellie at (09) 2162 3449
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