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Jack Whitehall on why his new Virginia Woolf adaptation will "speak to a modern audience"
Virginia Woolf's Night and Day has a star-studded cast that also includes roles for Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders and Lily Allen.
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Thursday, 18 June 2026 at 11:21 am
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Jack Whitehall has explained why he thinks his new film Virginia Woolf's Night and Day will "speak to a modern audience".
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The comedian has a key role in the a star-studded ensemble cast – which also includes Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders and Lily Allen – in the new adaptation of the titular writer's second novel.
And speaking exclusively to Radio Times ahead of its release (which you can watch in the video above), he revealed that although he had never read the novel before, he was "instantly" won over by the script by Justine Waddell.
"The tone of it really appealed to me," he said. "It felt like it had lots of heart, and Justine had written this fantastic script that had lots of humour and was really interesting. It had themes that felt like they were very relevant to now, and just a really compelling story."
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The film follows a young female astronomer named Katherine – or Kat – Hilbery as she tries to avoid the patriarchal attitudes of the day, with the lead role played by Cyrano and The Last Frontier star Haley Bennett.
Bennet says she liked how "fiercely independent Katherine was" and admired how "she wasn't interested in romance at all" while she compared the film to works by Greta Gerwig and John Hughes.
"What I also love about it is that it's just as much about family and connection and friendship and identity as it is [about] love," she added.
"I love the family dynamics between the Hilberys, and how it felt like a really nice, lively, playful, joyous exploration of all of the themes that are so brilliantly and clearly laid out by Virginia Woolf."
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Both Bennett and Whitehall also remarked how they hoped the film might prompt some audience members to read Woolf's other works – pointing out that Night and Day could function as a "gateway Woolf."
"It definitely leans towards a kind of comedic, absurdist, loving family drama and I feel like that's not typical of Virginia Woolf's work," said Bennett. "So, I hope that that is something that is palatable for people who aren't necessarily going to want to pick up a denser piece of her literature."
Whitehall added that he was now personally keen to "mainline" the rest of the writer's legendary canon, agreeing that "this is a good introduction."
Virginia Woolf's Night and Day is released in UK cinemas on Friday 19 June.
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Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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