TWO of the theatre’s major names will be on stage in the county when they star in one of the great plays in post-war American Drama.

Clare Higgins, who is one of the greatest actresses of her generation and the winner of three Olivier Best Actress awards, will be lining up alongside Tim Pigott-Smith when Edward Albee’s scintillating masterpiece – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – opens for a week-long run at Malvern’s Festival Theatre from Monday, July 7.

The action takes place during the course of one brutal and hilarious night when George, a college professor, and his wife, Martha, invite a young couple back for late-night drinks after a faculty party.

As the alcohol flows, the guests are coerced into witnessing and participating in George and Martha’s sadistic game-playing and vitriolic verbal scrapping which reaches its climax in a momentous revelation.

First staged on Broadway in 1962, the impact of the vicious wit, frank language and riveting characters firmly established Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as one of the great plays in post-war American drama, winner of the Tony and Critics’ Circle Awards for Best New Play. Its reputation was further enhanced by Mike Nichols’ 1966 film adaptation, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, which won five Oscars.

Clare Higgins won awards for her performances in Sweet Bird of Youth and Vincent in Brixton at the National Theatre and for Hecuba at the Donmar Warehouse, and also won the 2003 Theatre World Award for her outstanding major Broadway debut.

Tim Pigott-Smith’s recent stage work includes The Tempest in Bath, Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance for the Almeida; King Lear, Stroke of Luck and Enron, while his recent television credits include The Hour, Downton Abbey, Miranda and 37 Days.