Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 87

EVENING STANDARD THURSDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 1996 1 5 Woolf whistles and stamp of approval by Nicholas de Jongh I Afraid of Virginia I Woolf? The Almeida Diana Rigg finds a new tragic voice Diana IQgg and David Suchet after their triumph THEY clapped they cheered and they stamped their approval last night as Dame Diana Rigg conquered new dramatic territory This time with dyed carrot-coloured hair and zebra-patterned leggings she portrayed the loud vulgar Martha by ROBIN STRINGER Arts Correspondent IT IS not just the most enthralling marriage-game play of the post-war period in which partners strike each sore points like malicious fencers Edward Afraid of Virginia Woolf? looks in this terrific revival like a classic revelation of how far we depend on fantasies and illusions to sustain our unsatisfactory lives In 1962 when the play was premiered in New York audiences were reluctant to sympathise with the idea of a childless American couple who had nurtured a private fantasy for twenty-one years of having a son Last night the shocking climactic scene when the husband brings the dream of parenthood to a deathly finale comes across as one of those defining moments in modern theatre an image of the grief caused when people are forced to face up to hard reality And Diana Rigg voice big loud and hoarse with despair discovers an overwhelming emotional power new to her and to us Afraid of Virginia Washington in Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? Here she inhabits an entirely different world from her last two triumphs as Medea and Mother Courage but this looks as if it will be even more successfuL Co-starring David Suchet the six-week run at the Almeida Theatre in Islington is already nearly sold out and the production moves to the Aldwych immediately afterwards under the aegis of Robert Fox He was among the first to congratulate Dame Diana and Suchet last night as were two Almeida regulars playwright David Hare and designer Nicole FarhL were fantastic" Hare told them brother newscaster John Suchet was not far behind and among the many other celebrities in the audience were Michael Winner Zoe Wanamaker and Haydn Gwynne Not everyone was bowled over but arts fundraiser Colin Tweedy was full of admiration is yet another proof that Diana Rigg is one of the great actresses of her generation" he said also demonstrates yet again that the Almeida is doing work that other theatres should do but do not have the courage to do" The most important observer was Edward Albee himself who has been attending director Howard rehearsal for the past few weeks have been a very quiet mouse and occasionally not totally he admitted a good production They did a lovely job" This was the third premiere of his play he is attending in three weeks the other two being in Stockholm and Paris think I prefer it in English" he said the audience is so responsive and responsible here People care about theatre whereas in New York they are often only there to see each Best perfonnance of her careen Dame Diana Rigg with Lloyd Owen Woolf? is more than a mere psychodrama an acid comedy of manners which ranges across the blooded battlefields of marriage Albee provides enough hints and allusions to make it clear his play was a damning verdict on Sixties America as a country whose old ideals had been replaced by rampant materialism That truth holds far truer today though Howard Davies's production keeps a domestic emphasis John set with its garden backcloth is dominated by three imposing sideboards in this environment that middle-aged Martha and her husband George welcome a couple for a very late night drink Nick a young biologist on the make brings in tow his wife Honey Clare Holman memorably neurotic) As the alcohol flows free into already weU-tanked bodies tongues are loosened and inhibitions cast aside in the course of a very dark night of four lost souls though Davies does not ensure their drunkenness show through sufficiently His production needs more edge George and Martha may be bound in some sort of love but their childlessness his academic failure and her freelance disappointment have left them at daggers drawn And the guests are coaxed into their scathing cut and thrust games Dame Diana being the model of cool and elegance is not natural casting as the grossish extra-vert Martha Yet red-wigged loose-limbed and raucous with a braying laugh like a donkey the actress taunts and bad-mouths almost to the manner bom David impressive introverted George maintains the weary air of a man used to turning the other cheek and then sardonically striking back when Lloyd truculent Nick has limply succumbed to sexual proposition and revealed the truth about their phantom child that George springs his revenge: Dame reaction to news of their phantom death inspires her to drawn-out cries of distress tremendous tragic acting surely the best of her career Illusions end The bravado passes Her face falls Shock sets in Her voice cracks as she faces up to a fantasy-free future: a major theatrical event ftflfg No stars adequate it good very good outstanding Xpoor More reviews Page 44 Come and meet Stunning perfonnance unites critics JOAN COLLINS One of the great screen icons who will be signing copies of her autobiography SECOND ACT (published by Boxtree at £1799) by VALENTINE LOW EDWARD play divided the critics but they were united in praise for the new production of Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and in particular Dame Diana performance Jack Tinker in the Daily Mail wrote: outstripped most of her contemporaries with a mesmerising Medea and an astonishing Mother Courage she now puts her indelible stamp on supreme theatrical monster Martha" David Suchet as her husband George and Lloyd Owen and Clare Holman were all praised for their performances is indeed a rare and shattering event and one which no doubt will find a West End audience" said Tinker although this is a marathon knocks back the gin like a woman pos-sessed but what is most memorable of all is her moments of fear and vulnerability" He adds: Suchet matches her performance every inch of the harrowing way" In the Times Benedict Nightingale wrote: can certainly see the pain in wearily ironic George You also see the vulnerability and thwarted yearnings masked by the brash bravado the sensuality brutality and glee that add up to Riggs Martha" He concluded: years ago the critic Kenneth Tynan declared that brilliant and finny though the play was it left the emotions and Not at the Almeida not last work dense with literary allusion and lethally mined with verbal bombshells it is the most extraordinary picture of two human beings both separately dysfunctional yet both in equal need of each other" Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph doubts whether the play is a modem masterpiece but has no such qualms about "Howard long but always enthralling production" He wrote: Rigg has often come across as a mistress of cool stylishness but not here Her Martha is loud vulgar sexy and often devastat-lngly finny Rigg snarls growls and Friday 27th September 1 00pm to 200pm Dillons 19-23 Oxford Street London WIR IRF If you would like to reserve a signed copy please ring: 0171 434 9759 DILLONS THI IOOKITOII.