{"id":70066,"date":"2023-10-26T18:48:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T18:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geels.net\/?p=70066"},"modified":"2023-10-26T18:48:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T18:48:54","slug":"it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/","title":{"rendered":"It started with a kiss on stage, now this real-life couple is fighting it out"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>John Bailey<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Save articles for later<\/h3>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n

In its devastating and hilarious portrayal of a relationship breakdown whose intensity rivals that of a civil war, Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?<\/em> remains one of the pinnacles of modern drama. As middle-aged couple George and Martha return home from a boozy party, they\u2019re already taking snarky potshots and stepping into each other\u2019s carefully laid traps.<\/p>\n

The arrival of young colleagues Nick and Honey for a nightcap offers the older pair the chance to escalate the battle by playing the newcomers like pawns. Before long, we\u2019re witnessing an emotional landscape laid bare by truth bombs and incendiary revelations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kat Stewart and David Whiteley are putting their relationship to the test by playing the tempestuous couple at the centre of Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Simon Schluter <\/cite><\/p>\n

Kind of dangerous territory for a real-life couple to be wandering into, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may need to get some couples therapy, who knows?\u201d says David Whiteley.<\/p>\n

Adds Kat Stewart: \u201cOr maybe this is it. Maybe this is the couples therapy!\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart and Whiteley first met as ensemble members at St Kilda\u2019s Red Stitch Actors\u2019 Theatre in the early 2000s \u2013 they shared their first kiss onstage before anything romantic was happening in the wings. Now, after marriage, kids and the rest, they\u2019re returning to the company to celebrate its 21st anniversary playing theatre\u2019s most tempestuous lovers.<\/p>\n

As its name suggests, Red Stitch is an actor-driven company run by its ensemble. Whiteley was a founding member and Stewart signed on soon after its inception. In those early years, the two worked together on a bunch of productions before Stewart\u2019s burgeoning screen career took her away from the stage and Whiteley took over as the company\u2019s artistic director. The pair haven\u2019t performed together since 2007.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing Dave in a rehearsal room is a very big kick for me,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had that experience since we\u2019ve been grown-ups. Since we\u2019ve had a life and a family and all that stuff. Getting back in the sandpit together is really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theatre life can attract larger than life characters whose relationships are as volatile as those they play, but Stewart and Whiteley are refreshingly easy-going. Stewart\u2019s successes in Underbelly<\/em> and Offspring<\/em> meant they held off on having kids for a long time \u2013 after Archie and later Gigi were born, Whiteley would be there on set looking after the babies while Stewart was shooting. They rarely bring work home with them today. It all sounds very low-drama.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Taylor on the couch with Richard Burton in a scene from the 1966 film of Who\u2019s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Warner Brothers\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n

A mile away from George and Martha, then. It would be easy in the present climate to write off that relationship as toxic and call it a day. But playwright Edward Albee has written two characters so deeply charismatic, fiercely intelligent and impossible to pin down, it\u2019s hard to look away. Just as they\u2019re manipulating the impressionable Nick and Honey, they\u2019re also enlisting us to their respective sides as collaborators, turning our sympathies against their opponent.<\/p>\n

When the play premiered in 1962, it appalled some critics for the vulgarity of its language and the way it tore through the polite veneer of theatre to reveal how nasty relationships can get. Enough were impressed by the writing to guarantee it a long shelf life, however, and its reputation has only grown. A 1966 film version starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton \u2013 another real-life couple, who famously married and divorced twice \u2013 brought the story to an even wider public, and it\u2019s long been recognised as a masterpiece.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t lost any of its power to provoke. \u201cIt\u2019s still a cesspit,\u201d says Whiteley.<\/p>\n

Adds Stewart: \u201cIt\u2019s dirty. It\u2019s really shocking. The violence of it, the cruelty of it, and all the game playing. But I do believe the play\u2019s a love story. It\u2019s absolutely a love story. It\u2019s a very messy one, but it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albee\u2019s play is regularly taught to students, but approaching George and Martha at this point in their lives \u2013 Stewart and Whiteley are in their late 40s \u2013 gives them a deeper sense of the struggle that drives their tumultuous to and fro.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s feeling yourself of an age where you\u2019re not the centre of attention any more,\u201d says Whiteley. \u201cThis is what a lot of the play\u2019s concerned with, middle age, where you\u2019re suddenly drifting, and the focus is going elsewhere. That\u2019s what they\u2019re desperately fighting for and are frustrated by. But it is a love story and based on a very deep, dark connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kat Stewart and David Whiteley in the play Down the Road, a 2002 production they did together at Red Stitch. <\/span><\/p>\n

If social norms have changed in the 60-plus years since the play\u2019s debut, life in the theatre has been undergoing its own transformation. Actors are more aware of the pitfalls of their profession \u2013 how emotionally difficult roles require a careful approach. The other day Stewart noticed some pamphlets in the Red Stitch kitchen with advice on coming out of character after a show\u2019s end. \u201cI had a flip through and thought,\u2018Well, that\u2019s a good idea,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Back in the days when Red Stitch first formed, actors were taught a kind of sink-or-swim mentality \u2013 it wasn\u2019t uncommon for acting courses to ask students to confess their most painful memories, strip naked or push themselves to physical extremes. It\u2019s only recently that the industry has reassessed the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did a play at MTC a few years ago called Disgraced<\/em>,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cAnd it was a play with big arguments and racial slurs and stuff, and we had a little ritual before each show, a group hug, and we looked in each actor\u2019s eyes and said \u2018I love you\u2019. Then we went out and destroyed each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sort of thing is really healthy. I think we\u2019re more mindful of taking care of our relationships and our mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whiteley says the strength and longevity of their relationship is what puts them in good stead to tackle such challenging roles. \u201cBecause we\u2019re already a couple we have that base level trust and love that helps us,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an actor it\u2019s like being a painter. You draw on emotions from wherever they serve you. That may be your partner, it may be a situation that happened to you when you were a young child. Your emotions are colours you use to apply to the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kazt Stewart (left) on the set of Offspring with Asher Keddie. Stewart says being on stage is \u201cmuch harder than being on telly.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Stewart is equally confident. \u201cI feel that these people are very different to us. But it\u2019s so early. In December, when we finish, I might give you a very different answer!\u201d<\/p>\n

The emotional guardrails are in place, but other realities make this kind of feat a tricky one to pull off. For one, there\u2019s the logistics of both parents being out on school nights. \u201cWe have two little kids and usually when one of us is working, the other picks up the slack.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the fact that though they might be an actor couple, they\u2019re not a double act. \u201cWe\u2019ve been learning lines separately,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cI don\u2019t know why. We\u2019ve got different ways of working, I think, and we\u2019re used to working separately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stewart and Whiteley\u2019s careers have been a mix of stage and screen roles, but the difference is stark. \u201cScreen work is fine, but it\u2019s a bit like being on camp or something, stuck out in a trailer waiting to go on,\u201d says Whiteley, who has appeared on Jack Irish<\/em> and The Doctor Blake Mysteries<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of exhausting. I love being on set, but that\u2019s such a small part of the actual experience. It\u2019s like a military operation or something, making a TV show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Stewart: \u201cYeah, but honestly, it\u2019s a lark. How much harder is this? It\u2019s much harder than being on telly.\u201d<\/p>\n

In film and TV you have dozens, even hundreds of people whose job it is to make you look good. \u201cIn theatre all you\u2019ve got is the play text, so it has to be amazing,\u201d says Whiteley.<\/p>\n

The intimacy and immediacy of theatre might be part of its attraction, but it also means you have no safety net. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to lose doing a play,\u201d says Whiteley. \u201cYou can feel like you could fall on your face and be dragged down the street by critics, by audiences, by yourself. I\u2019ve been in plays where at half-time I\u2019ve thought, \u2018Maybe I can just make a run for it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Stewart: \u201cI\u2019ve fantasised about witness protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the thrill of live performance \u2013 and the place they first met \u2013 means they\u2019ll never be far from Red Stitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where we got to know each other,\u201d says Stewart. \u201cIt\u2019s part of our history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?<\/em> is at Red Stitch Actors\u2019 Theatre, St Kilda, from November 15 to December 17.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Viewed in Culture<\/h2>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Bailey Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUS Entertainment News. Celebrity News & Gossip - geels<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get the latest celebrity news and hot celeb gossip with exclusive stories and pictures from Us. Celebrity gossip and the latest showbiz news. US showbiz and latest celebrity news...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Entertainment News. Celebrity News & Gossip - geels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Get the latest celebrity news and hot celeb gossip with exclusive stories and pictures from Us. Celebrity gossip and the latest showbiz news. US showbiz and latest celebrity news...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"geels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-26T18:48:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/It-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/\",\"name\":\"US Entertainment News. Celebrity News & Gossip - geels\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-26T18:48:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-26T18:48:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/#\/schema\/person\/79e564dbc4e5bbbaa93d3fd0e94d2c08\"},\"description\":\"Get the latest celebrity news and hot celeb gossip with exclusive stories and pictures from Us. Celebrity gossip and the latest showbiz news. US showbiz and latest celebrity news...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beauty\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/category\/beauty\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"It started with a kiss on stage, now this real-life couple is fighting it out\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/\",\"name\":\"geels\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/#\/schema\/person\/79e564dbc4e5bbbaa93d3fd0e94d2c08\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/geels.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d7b307f9249fbd62e5ce654cd9cb67c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d7b307f9249fbd62e5ce654cd9cb67c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US Entertainment News. Celebrity News & Gossip - geels","description":"Get the latest celebrity news and hot celeb gossip with exclusive stories and pictures from Us. Celebrity gossip and the latest showbiz news. US showbiz and latest celebrity news...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US Entertainment News. Celebrity News & Gossip - geels","og_description":"Get the latest celebrity news and hot celeb gossip with exclusive stories and pictures from Us. Celebrity gossip and the latest showbiz news. US showbiz and latest celebrity news...","og_url":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/","og_site_name":"geels","article_published_time":"2023-10-26T18:48:54+00:00","author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/It-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/","url":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/","name":"US Entertainment News. Celebrity News & Gossip - geels","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-26T18:48:54+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-26T18:48:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/#\/schema\/person\/79e564dbc4e5bbbaa93d3fd0e94d2c08"},"description":"Get the latest celebrity news and hot celeb gossip with exclusive stories and pictures from Us. Celebrity gossip and the latest showbiz news. US showbiz and latest celebrity news...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/beauty\/it-started-with-a-kiss-on-stage-now-this-real-life-couple-is-fighting-it-out\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/geels.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beauty","item":"https:\/\/geels.net\/category\/beauty\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"It started with a kiss on stage, now this real-life couple is fighting it out"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/geels.net\/","name":"geels","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/geels.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/#\/schema\/person\/79e564dbc4e5bbbaa93d3fd0e94d2c08","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/geels.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d7b307f9249fbd62e5ce654cd9cb67c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7d7b307f9249fbd62e5ce654cd9cb67c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geels.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}