Cocktails and humping

By Leah Sasges

Late night cocktails gone awry? Hardly.


It’s 2 a.m. and you and a few choice guests are arriving home from an exhausting night on the town. Ah, the infamous after party. Still pumped from the night and desperately wanting to keep the good times rolling, you grab a couple glasses, pour drinks all around, and start in with the late night, almost always obscene, conversation.


Welcome to the first act of Edward Albee’s three-act play, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? Take a sip, relax, and let the games begin.


Not-so-innocent newlyweds Honey (Kira Bradley) and Nick (Ryan Luhning) are sucked into the whirlwind of George (Brian Dooley) and Martha’s (Valerie Ann Pearson) older, roller coaster relationship. Upon realizing what they are in for and encountering several less-than-appealing games entitled, "embarrass the host" and "hump the hostess," they make several pathetic attempts to leave.


However, after a while they are either intrigued with their hosts or too drunk to leave and end up engaging in George and Martha’s twisted games. As you can guess, the play features drinking, coarse language, sexual content and violence–all components of a healthy relationship. So please, leave younger siblings, cousins and immature friends at home.


The cast is exceptional, under the direction of Bob White, vividly portraying the two couples, each with secrets of their own, both a little guilty of not coming clean on more than one occasion.


Alberta Theatre Projects’ first three-act play Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? is a little long for the average theatregoer, but well worth the ride. It brings you from laugh-out-loud hilarity to intensely quiet seriousness as fast as Martha can finish a drink with a pace guaranteed to keep you thirsty for more.


Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? runs through Nov. 1. For tickets or information, call 294-7402.

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