Audition Notice: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Edward Albee’s masterpiece ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ is coming to Wokingham Theatre next April. This award-winning 20th Century drama was made even more iconic due to the 1966 film adaptation starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, which won five Academy Awards. We’re pleased to share audition details below on how to get involved in this modern classic, directed by Sophie Earle.
The story
Set on a college campus in New England, the play closely centres around a married couple, George and Martha, who have a dark, intense and loving marriage. The play is set in just one evening, in 1962, going into the early morning, where they invite a younger couple, Nick and Honey, to their home for drinks after a faculty party.
The play explores many themes: illusion vs. reality, the complexity of human relationships, the disillusionment of middle age, and the destructive power of secrets. With Albee’s exceptional writing, it’s a play that is a masterpiece in the power and destruction of language. How deeply can people hurt each other? How deep and intense would a married couple go to proclaim their love?
The characters
| Role | Description |
| Martha (40-60) | Married to George. She is loud, brash, witty, seductive and emotionally volatile at times. She dominates every room she enters, continually insulting George especially in public, and flirting aggressively with Nick during the course of the night. Beneath her toughness, Martha is profoundly lonely and throughout the play, she begins to unravel. It’s an exceptional part for a strong woman with a lot of lines to learn! |
| George (40-60) | Married to Martha. He is an intelligent history professor, teaching at a New England college, who is now stuck in a middling career – something Martha constantly mocks him for. He is a brilliantly complex character – bitter, passive aggressive, manipulative and very sarcastic. George rarely shows venerability directly – his pain is buried under layers of sarcasm. He uses language, wordplay and mind games to manipulate and undermine others – especially Nick. Like Martha, this is an amazing part for a man with plenty of lines to learn! |
| Nick (30-40) | Married to Honey. He is a confident young biology professor, who is making a name for himself in the new generation of academics. He is frequently described in terms of his physicality – tall, athletic, good-looking – Martha is sexually drawn to him immediately. He serves as both a contrast and a mirror to George – someone for George to continuously mock to make himself feel good. Nick’s character plays a crucial role in exposing the toxic dynamics and illusions at the heart of the older couple’s relationship. |
| Honey (20-35) | Married to Nick. She is a young, naïve and emotionally fragile woman for most of the play. But as the play progresses, Honey’s presence becomes increasingly important – that even the most ‘perfect’ character in the play is incredibly flaws. Honey gets progressively drunker over the course of the night and you realise she is a symbol of denial and emotional repression. Whilst she doesn’t have as many lines as the other character, she needs to be able to react with all these larger characters and bring the comic relief at times. |
Auditions
Auditions will be at 7.45pm on Tuesday 18 and Thursday 20 November, both at Wokingham Theatre. If call backs are required, they will be held on the 25th November.
Please Note: For role of Martha, the audition piece, will be the opening of the play with George and her monologue at the opening of Act 3.
Rehearsals
These will start in January with a cast readthrough on the 6th January using amended scripts, as the Director is cutting the play from three acts to two. Scripts are available to be borrowed in the office and must be returned by 18 November.
Auditions: Tuesday 18 and Thursday 20 November: 7.45pm WT
First company readthrough: 6 January
Performances: Wed 29 April to Sat 9 May 2026
SOPHIE EARLE • Director
sophieearle@gmail.com
SUE DE QUIDT • Production Manager
suede@wokinghamtheatre.org.uk
Please note, any non-members wishing to audition will need to become a member if they are cast, before they are able to take part in the show. You can find out more about membership here.