Theatre review: Orlando

With the changing understanding of gender, and the arrival of bankable non-binary stars like Emma Corrin in recent years, it's not surprising if this seems an apt time to revisit Virginia Woolf's original gender-bending story, Orlando, on stage. The aristocratic Orlando (Corrin) is born during the reign of Elizabeth I (Lucy Briers,) who toys with the idea of recruiting the then 15-year-old boy to her court. As he grows up, he remains close to the seat of power, but the kings and queens seem to change constantly, as Orlando ages much more slowly than he should. So by the time Charles II is on the throne the nobleman is only 30, and takes a job as ambassador to Constantinople. Having spent his life avoiding settling down with one person because that life doesn't offer answers to his many and vague questions about the universe, he continues a life of wine and women - until his sudden death.

Or, Woolf suggests, that may only be the death of one aspect of Orlando: After a week in a coma she wakes up female. It's a body that doesn't enjoy many of the privileges of her first one, but Orlando isn't going to let that stop her search for knowledge and adventure.

I haven't read Woolf's novel or seen the film with Tilda Swinton so can't compare how they deal with the injustices and inequalities Orlando faces as a woman, but while Michael Grandage's production touches on them it mostly uses the story as an opportunity for celebration of all gender - whether masculine, feminine or fluid. Corrin offers pathos and a genuinely inquisitive nature as a male Orlando gets his heart broken by a Russian Princess (Millicent Wong,) while a female one gets hers broken when Marmaduke (Jodie McNee) gets on a ship right after their wedding and is never seen again. And both versions catch the eye of the cross-dressing Duchess Harriet (Richard Cant,) who also appears to exist outside of linear time in some way.

Corrin also gets their teeth into the fun and rebellious side of the character, and is very good at using subtle changes in vocal tone to change the character's age and gender - it's also used as something of a metatheatrical gag as the time passes so quickly it catches them unawares and unsure of what voice they should be using. Neil Bartlett's adaptation gives the wild Orlando a more measured sidekick in Mrs Grimsditch (Deborah Findlay,) a cross between concerned servant in the story and hassled wardrobe mistress in the metatheatrical element. But the text more closely mirrors the puckish lead, with tongue-in-cheek misquotes of Shakespeare giving way to references to The Rivals and Cabaret (although the nod to the Just Eat jingle was... maybe a step too weird for me.)

When not playing other roles the supporting cast form a chorus of Virginia Woolves, who help lead the story as well as being the only ones who can answer some of Orlando's questions as the centuries go by. Perhaps the crux of the play is when Orlando reaches 1941, the year of her creator's death, and has to continue her search for answers without the company of Woolves to help her. Orlando feels like something of a freeform evening that never resolves itself into what it's really about. But as a story that's more about asking the big questions than necessarily getting the answers, maybe that's only right. And Corrin certainly takes us on a fun ride along the way.

Orlando by Neil Bartlett, based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, is booking until the 25th of February at the Garrick Theatre.

Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner.