''Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' is a 1978 television play by

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

, produced by

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

and directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

. The title of the play is a parody of ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'', which in turn plays on the title of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

song "

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written by Frank Churchill with additional lyrics by Ann Ronell, which originally featured in the 1933 Disney cartoon ''Three Little Pigs'', where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig (voic ...

Plot

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 Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

and a big cigar in the mouth of

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...

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

- Narrator * Neville Smith - Hopkins *

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

- Woman in Waiting Room *

Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass (28 May 1919 – 8 September 2006) was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'', Algy Herries in '' To ...

- Doctor * Robert Longden - Mr Willard *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

- Mrs Hopkins *

Carol MacReady Carol MacReady is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Mrs Dribelle in Bodger and Badger. Carol is married to actor James Laurenson. Other television shows she appeared in include: *''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' - Milly ...

- Wendy * Margaret Courtenay - Mrs Broadbent *

Lynne Carol Josephine Caroline Gertrude Mary Faith Harber (29 June 1914 – 30 June 1990), known by the stage name Lynne Carol, was a Welsh born actress, primarily in TV series and telemovies. She was best known for playing busybody Martha Longhurst i ...

- Mrs Tucker *

Barbara Hicks Barbara Hicks (12 August 1924 – 6 September 2013) was an English film actress. She appeared in Terry Gilliam's 1985 cult film ''Brazil'' and Merchant Ivory Productions's 1992 Bafta award-winning ''Howards End''. Biography Hicks was born in W ...

- Miss Gibbons *

Janine Duvitski Janine Duvitski (born Christine Janine Drzewicki; 28 June 1952) is a British actress, known for her roles in the BBC television sitcom series '' Waiting for God'', ''One Foot in the Grave'' and ''Benidorm''. Duvitski first came to national atte ...

- Maureen * Derek Thompson - Skinner *

Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lewis Lloyd (22 April 1923 – 14 July 2008) was an English actor who made his name in film and television comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in ''Hancock's Half Hour'', ''Hugh and I'' and other sit ...

- Mr Dodds

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf 1978 plays 1978 television films 1978 LGBT-related films 1978 films Films scored by George Fenton Films directed by Stephen Frears ITV television dramas Plays by Alan Bennett Cultural depictions of Virginia Woolf