Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1978)

A repressed night-school teacher, secretly homosexual, struggles to cope with his demanding, eccentric mother.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Alan Bennett

Stars:

Neville Smith, Julie Walters, Frank Middlemass

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Neville Smith	...	Hopkins
Julie Walters	...	Woman in Waiting Room
Frank Middlemass	...	Doctor
Robert Longden	...	Mr. Willard
Olga Grahame	...	Bus Conductress
Rosa Roberts	...	Black Lady
Thora Hird	...	Mrs. Hopkins
Carol MacReady	...	Wendy
Margaret Courtenay	...	Mrs. Broadbent
Lynne Carol	...	Mrs. Tucker
Barbara Hicks	...	Miss Gibbons
Janine Duvitski	...	Maureen
Derek Thompson	...	Skinner
Hugh Lloyd	...	Mr. Dodds
Gillian Martell	...	Mrs. Garland

Storyline

A repressed night-school teacher, secretly homosexual, struggles to cope with his demanding, eccentric mother.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1978 (UK)

Also Known As:

Six Plays by Alan Bennett: Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Filming Locations:

Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Weekend Television (LWT)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many critics noticed that Neville Smith, in the leading role, seemed to be doing an extended impression of the play's author, Alan Bennett.

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Connections

References Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

User Reviews

Early Alan Bennett, but the seeds of greatness are there!

This is definitely an early work, and it shows. It's a bit long, a bit pausy, occasionally a bit slow-moving. The "hero" (if that's an appropriate word for him) isn't very sympathetic. But there's plenty of clues about the future of Bennett's writing. This is his first work with Thora Hird and Julie Walters, both of whom would go on to glory in both series of Talking Heads, many years later.

There's an overbearing mother, repressed homosexuality, an embarrassingly loud conversation in a cafe, the idea that hippy-ish or left-wing ideas make people uncomfortable, themes of education, failed sexual relationships that are over before they have begun, and, of course, Northern England.

All of the above elements will be honed, improved and adapted in future workings, but this really is the birth of a modern genius. Occasionally a bit tedious, though.