A new West End production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is coming to London this autumn 2026, starring Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup.
Directed by Marianne Elliott (War Horse, Company, Sunday in the Park with George), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will run at @SohoPlace Theatre from 21 September to 19 December 2026.
Acclaimed screen and stage star Gillian Anderson is set to play Martha in this major new production, with Hollywood star Billy Crudup (High Noon, The Morning Show) as George.
The cast will also feature Josh Dylan (Tommy & Tuppence) as Nick, and Phoebe Horn (The Motive and the Cue) as Honey.
A Decades-Long Desire: Anderson finally takes on Martha
“I’ve wanted to play Martha for decades and thrilled Billy Crudup is joining me in the ring as George.” – Gillian Anderson
Playing Martha has been a long-term ambition for Gillian Anderson, who told Interview magazine back in 2016 that, “I always had a fantasy of doing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”.
Gillian Anderson is best known for her screen roles, including Dana Scully in long-running TV sci-fi The X-Files, Netflix hit Sex Education, and BBC drama The Fall.
Gillian Anderson has also enjoyed major London theatre acclaim, not least her 2014 performance in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire at The Young Vic, playing Blanche DuBois; and in Ivo van Hove’s 2019 production of All About Eve at the Noël Coward Theatre in London. Read more about Gillian Anderson’s credits on her Star Watch page.
Marianne Elliott’s current projects include directing a new production of Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National Theatre, starring Lesley Manville, Aidan Turner and Monica Barbaro.
Who’s Afraid of the Truth? Albee’s Masterpiece of Marital Freefall
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is Edward Albee’s 1962 play centred around the complex marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening after a university faculty party, they invite an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, round to be their guests, and draw them into their bitter and frustrated relationship.
The play won the Tony Award and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play, and was famously turned into a movie directed by Mike Nichols and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal and Sandy Dennis.
On stage, London productions include the 1997 Aldwych Theatre production starring Diana Rigg and David Suchet; and the 2017 West End production at the Harold Pinter Theatre, directed by James Macdonald and starring Imelda Staunton, Conleth Hill, Imogen Poots, and Luke Treadaway.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will run at @SohoPlace Theatre and is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, in association with Nica Burns.
@sohoplace Theatre, London
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