Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1982-1983)

The National Arts Centre produced Edward Albee's 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1983. The final production in a three-play mini-series staged in the NAC's Studio, The Ottawa Citizen referred to the production as "nothing short of electrifying." 

The play explores the complexities of marriage through the two lead characters: Professor of History, George and his wife Martha (who is the daughter of the college where George works). Following a faculty party, Martha invites another (younger) couple to their home for a nighcap. After the younger couple arrives, George and Martha enter into a bitter argument.

Set designer Jack Simon created the maquette with a New England house in mind, with a living room at its center and windows in the back showing scenes outside of the home. In the middle of the house is Professor George, standing with the posture of an elegant, intellectual and confident person. A sofa and chair, a table sit in the middle of the room, with bookshelves and books scattered about. The maquette's colours are dark browns and grays. And what's distinctive is that, if you look closely at the model, you'll find a tiny broken bottle, representing the bottle that was broken by Professor George when the argument with his wife escalated.

The maquette materializes the theatrical piece through the elements it contains and the colours chosen: a prestigious, elegant house where an intellectual, bourgeois class resides, but at the same time it's dark and cold.

It was difficult to know for certain if some of the elements were in their desired place by Simon, or it they had fallen off. Over 40 years old, the maquetted had accumulated a lot of dust over the years. The paint and other materials in the model are either brittle or starting to come off easily, as in the case of the painting which has fallen off the wall, and the sofa and coffee table which have peeled off the floor and have to be replaced each time. The students working on this maquette, Houda Jkhakha and Alexandra Shaw, examined the maquette carefully, using traces and marks on the floor to locate where to replace the couch and coffee table.

There is a garden in the back corner that was difficult to access without damaging the maquette. Following the recommendations of the NAC archival team, the students prioritized conservative preservation so as not to damage the maquette.

Preservation team: Houda Jkhakha and Alexandra Shaw