Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf
| Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Screenplay by | Alan Bennett |
| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
| Starring | Neville Smith Carol MacReady Thora Hird |
| Theme music composer | George Fenton |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Stephen Frears Tony Wharmby |
| Cinematography | Barry Noakes |
| Editor | Jon Costelloe |
| Running time | 64 minutes |
| Production company | London Weekend Television |
| Original release | |
| Release | 2 December 1978 |
Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a 1978 television play by Alan Bennett, produced by London Weekend Television and directed by Stephen Frears.[1] The title of the play is a parody of, and answer to the question, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which in turn plays on the title of the Disney song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?".
Plot
[edit]It tells the story of Trevor (Neville Smith), a teacher of English Literature to adults in the evenings. Trevor is not a happy man; his girlfriend gets her hair in her muesli, someone has vandalised his visual aids for his evening classes, drawing a large pair of breasts on his poster of Virginia Woolf and a big cigar in the mouth of E. M. Forster on the other; he suffers from 'curate's bladder' and is unable to urinate if there is another man present in the toilet; and he does not even like his name—Trevor. Most of his students are hopeless but there is one bright working-class man in the class. After an unpleasant evening during which he gets punched in the face he meets the bright student, Skinner (Derek Thompson), by chance. Skinner addresses him as 'Trev' and this cheers him up greatly, making him see himself in a new light. It is hinted that there might be a future gay romance between Trevor and Skinner.
Cast
[edit]- Alan Bennett - Narrator
- Neville Smith - Hopkins
- Julie Walters - Woman in Waiting Room
- Frank Middlemass - Doctor
- Robert Longden - Mr Willard
- Thora Hird - Mrs Hopkins
- Carol MacReady - Wendy
- Margaret Courtenay - Mrs Broadbent
- Lynne Carol - Mrs Tucker
- Barbara Hicks - Miss Gibbons
- Janine Duvitski - Maureen
- Derek Thompson - Skinner
- Hugh Lloyd - Mr Dodds