A Delicate Balance, Almeida Theatre | reviews, news & interviews
A Delicate Balance, Almeida Theatre
A Delicate Balance, Almeida Theatre
Albee's long night's journey into day thrills anew with a dream cast
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/5e21d3cfd9bcc0db13ae5da246518d87.jpg?itok=6wErjBiG)
Serenity hangs by a fraying thread in the thrilling Almeida Theatre revival of A Delicate Balance, Edward Albee's 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winner about remembrance, fear, and somehow facing a new day. This particular playhouse has long been associated with Albee, from its (overrated) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? through to various UK and even world premieres. But James Macdonald's production of the play that follows Virginia Woolf in the Albee canon stands a league apart, perhaps in sympathy with the work itself. The audience last night laughed plenty, sometimes (if truth be told) strangely, and yet by the end gave way to the voluble stillness that bespeaks a playgoing public stunned into silence.
Serenity hangs by a fraying thread in the thrilling Almeida Theatre revival of A Delicate Balance, Edward Albee's 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winner about remembrance, fear, and somehow facing a new day. This particular playhouse has long been associated with Albee, from its (overrated) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? through to various UK and even world premieres. But James Macdonald's production of the play that follows Virginia Woolf in the Albee canon stands a league apart, perhaps in sympathy with the work itself. The audience last night laughed plenty, sometimes (if truth be told) strangely, and yet by the end gave way to the voluble stillness that bespeaks a playgoing public stunned into silence.
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Theatre
![In at the deep end: Finn Cole as Ray](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Finn%20Cole%20%28Ray%29%20-%20credit%20Johan%20Persson%20%282%29_0.jpg?itok=sKKnMkIg)
![Video-linked: Nassim Soleimanpour coaching Fiona Shaw](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/ECHO%20024.jpg?itok=K2OnKOXB)
![Stove alert: from left, Jason Barnett, Kadiff Kirwan, Simon-Anthony Rhoden](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Wings%20kitchen%20Jason%20Barnett%2C%20Kadiff%20Kirwan%2C%20Simon-Anthony%20Rhoden.jpg?itok=mTokqmnd)
![Imelda Staunton leads, but doesn't over dominate, a perfecr ensemble](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Dolly%201.jpeg?itok=k-72NtkC)
![No, not the Sondheim one! Lucie Jones (centre) takes the title role in Stephen Schwartz musical](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/bakerswife1.jpg?itok=_iojRkg_)
![No appetite for complacency: Oriana White in 'Sandwiches'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Sandwiches%20written%20by%20Naomi%20Westerman%2C%20performed%20by%20Oriana%20White._0.jpg?itok=Zmtlvk8M)
![Viennese whirl: James Corrigan, Natalie Simpson and Jessie Gattward](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/James%20Corrigan%2C%20Natalie%20Simpson%20and%20Jessie%20Gatward_credit%20Marc%20Brenner.jpg?itok=EpvVUzBp)
![Lost in space: Catherine Ashdown and Kadiesha Belgrave as Bo and Aicha, with Kerbal, centre](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Catherine%20Ashdown%20and%20Kadiesha%20Belgrave%20in%20Grud_credit%20Alex%20Brenner.jpg?itok=5VNVq-Ym)
![Running on soul: Pamela Nomvete as Faye, the troubled union rep](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Pamela%20Nomvete%20in%20SKELETON%20CREW%20-%20Donmar%20Warehouse%20-%20photo%20by%20Helen%20Murray_.jpg?itok=n-GTqWWC)
![Jack Wolfe and Cassie Levy in Next to Normal - at least one of them is keeping it real](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Next%20To%20Normal%20Jack%20Wolfe%20and%20Caissie%20Levy.jpg?itok=2AJfSPF3)
![Looking good for his age: Khalid Abdalla and cast in 'Mnemonic'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Mnemonic%201.jpg?itok=98CnQYI8)
![And they're off: the cast of 'Starlight Express'](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/starlight.jpg?itok=kMe9Ol6t)
Add comment