Jake Mace
Coline Atterbury is the writer-performer of upcoming Voila! Theatre Festival show I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Too, for which Olamide Candide-Johnson is the Director. The piece follows Victoria, a writer caught in the grip of a manic creative surge and within a complicated love triangle that soon sees her begin to believe she is the eponymous famed writer. Exploring the intersection of identity, relationships, psychology and mental health, there’s plenty to unpack. We caught up with Coline and Olamide alongside actors Andrew Hawley and Charlie Coombes-Roberts for a pixelated pint to find out more about the show.
You can catch I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Too as part of Voila! Theatre Festival in London at the Barons Court Theatre, from tonight November 4th until Thursday November 6th at 7.30pm, and then on Friday November 8th and Saturday November 9th at 3:30pm (75mins). Tickets (£15 / £10 conc.) are available through the Voila! Theatre Festival Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Coline! Your upcoming show follows an a writer in the grip of a manic creative surge – tell us what inspired the piece.
Coline: It all started with this thought of feeling “crazy,” like all of us do sometimes. But really the piece is inspired by my own experience of bipolar disorder. There’s this romanticised idea that creatives are chaotic, wild, living on the edge — but I wanted to explore how society perceives madness and creativity. Especially in women. I started reading Virginia Woolf’s work and was struck by how sensitive she was to the world: how deeply she felt things. Many creatives crave that intensity, yet often feel paralysed by limited opportunities or simply by our own minds. That need to feel alive really resonated with me.
Jake: How has the creative process been of putting the show together – give us an idea of the journey you’ve been on with it so far.
Coline: I’ve never written anything before, so I began meeting up with friends to create small scenes, just for the joy of making something together. From those early moments, it grew into a full-length play. We shared it at a scratch night, brought my wonderful director Ola on board, and it just snowballed from there. At some point, the play simply stops belonging to you — and that’s a beautiful thing. Theatre is always collaborative, and I’m endlessly grateful for everyone involved.
Olamide: I think what’s so beautiful about a creative process is that it really can’t be forced. You have to have discipline about it. You have to give yourselves time and space, you have to be present, you have to have a certain level of concentration in order to allow things to happen within it. It’s been really wonderful watching things unfurl within this process with all our collaborators and then refining our show from that.
Jake: What will be the first thing the audience sees, feels, and hears as they enter the space?
Coline: They’ll see three actors coming together to play. There’ll be music and hopefully that spark of connection and unspoken understanding between performers, and between stage and audience.
Olamide: Yes, exactly what Coline has said, nothing to add. I hope the audience feels invited in.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Coline: I hope they walk away with the sense that bipolar disorder is so often misunderstood. People tend to focus on the depression, and though the mania can seem intoxicating, even entertaining, there comes a point when it’s really not. It doesn’t only affect the individual; it ripples through everyone around them. I think, at the heart of it, the play is about the need to be understood and about love. How vital it is, and yet, sometimes, how it isn’t enough. Our protagonist has to face her behaviours and their consequences — not to excuse them, but to understand them. I really hope they take something unexpected with them. A feeling. Something they can’t explain or put their finger on.
Olamide: Love is not a replacement for medical intervention and that is okay. There is no failing on anyones part in that respect.
Jake: With Voila Festival 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Coline: I’m so excited to see it come together. To let go of whatever “idea” it was when I started writing it. I’m looking forward to sharing this story alongside these brilliant actors Andrew Hawley and Charlie Coombes-Roberts, surrounded by sound, rhythm, and atmosphere created by the audience.
Olamide: Absolutely, I’m very excited to watch the show keep evolving in our actors’ hands and to watch the collaboration deepen. I’m excited for our pre-show as well.
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Coline: It would be a Zirben Schnaps: firey, potent but ultimately heart-warming.
Olamide: A nice cold pressed carrot juice, its very good for you.
Charlie: A Mexican hot chocolate. Cozy with a lil kick.
Andrew: Bloody Mary: powerful, complex, makes your eyes water.
A reminder, you can catch I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Too as part of Voila! Theatre Festival in London at the Barons Court Theatre, from tonight November 4th until Thursday November 6th at 7.30pm, and then on Friday November 8th and Saturday November 9th at 3:30pm (75mins). Tickets (£15 / £10 conc.) are available through the Voila! Theatre Festival Online Box Office.
