The Goat

Since punching at the illusions of America's intelligentsia with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1962, Edward Albee has had a reputation for unflinching attacks on domestic delusions: nearly half a century later, he is still slapping.

Dominic Hill's decision to direct the Scottish premiere of Albee's 2002 Tony Award winner continues The Traverse's willingness to find original, exciting writing. The Goat conjures up the perfect marriage, only to break it apart as the husband's love for "Sylvia" is revealed. It is tough theatre – the final scenes are unremitting conflict – but it uses a wild taboo to examine prejudice and, of course, the huge gaping void at the centre of modern life.

Hardly joyous, despite the humor inherent with a famous architect being caught inside a goat, the original production was Albee's first Broadway show in nearly two decades. His earlier successes have alternated with flops – the musical of Breakfast at Tiffany's lasted four hours and about as many days on Broadway, and his aggressive style borders on the nihilistic.

Despite his sensitivity to the social nuances of time and place, Albee's work shares a great deal with the Absurdist tradition- Beckett and Pinter spring to mind- with the existential dissolution lurking behind the civilised patter. Rarely staged in Scotland, his plays are a stark reminder that theatre can be a potent messenger, even when the message is meaninglessness.