A regular visitor from Holland attended this evening of entertainment, and also wrote a review:

I have to tell you, this feels a bit strange: writing a review for the first time in my life, in English as well, about a play I saw about 4 months ago! But I'm willing to give it a try; please bear with me...

One of the first things that flashed before my eyes when thinking of the night "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf" played, was the heavy rain. For me, it partly set the mood for that night. Not a heavy mood though; it fitted the atmosphere of the play quite well. As we were seated in the town hall, the public was facing each other, while in the middle of the room the play was about to take place.

Now I have to say: my expectations were not too high. Having seen the excellent performance by Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor on video, made me wonder if going to this play on Coll was such a good idea. Since living in Amsterdam gives one the advantage of being able to go to a play whenever you want to (some of them are even in English!), why bother seeing one on Coll?? A serious play on Coll?? Are you mad??

I was wrong.

Sitting there, in this strange room, almost on top of the actors, the well-known story started to unfold. I found myself quickly being drawn into the play. Everything was there: the American accents, the flawlessly spoken dialogues, the intriguing cat-mouse games between the two couples ...I loved it! The timing was good as well, making the bitterness of the conversations even more believable. The surroundings made it all seem surreal. To be so close to the performers, see all the tiny details, almost feeling the stress of the characters they played: that really gave everything an extra edge. Edward Albee's drama showed it still had not lost any of its power. It was hard to tell how many people in the audience were affected by this display of emotions. Some must have recognised situations similar to their own lives....

All in all, a very enjoyable evening. This group of fine young actors deserve support. I do hope they continue to play in 'weird' places like Coll. Maybe one day Amsterdam?

Amsterdam, March 24th 2000

Franklin Heilbron (f heilbron@ahotmail.com)