Belvoir St theatre, Sydney, has unveiled a new adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography, co-adapted by Elsie Yager and Carissa Licciardello, who also directs. The production places the fluidity of gender and sexuality at the forefront, with four trans and non-binary actors sharing the titular role: Shannen Alyce Quan, Janet Anderson, Zarif, and Nic Prior.
The play opens on rollerskates, with the cast wearing elaborate masks of celestial bodies on a snow-dusted mirrored set. The story follows Orlando, a young lord in Elizabethan England who lives for centuries, experiencing love and adventure across different eras. The role transitions between actors as time progresses, with the first shift from Quan's cherubic lord to Anderson's society woman being particularly poignant.
Running at 105 minutes, the adaptation condenses Woolf's epic by focusing on social change rather than the novel's passionate love story. Each new era introduces characters who explain the period's attitudes towards women, making the script informative but sometimes impersonal. Orlando's journey becomes one of self-acceptance, a lovely but conventional message.
Despite this, the play is enjoyable and funny, with Amber McMahon delivering memorable performances in supporting roles, including Queen Elizabeth I. The Victorian era is portrayed as an exaggeratedly gloomy tragedy of marriage, while Restoration-era social rituals are played for comedy. The production is solidly structured and light-hearted, though it lacks the passion of the original novel.
The adaptation brings the story into the contemporary era, echoing Licciardello's 2020 adaptation of Woolf's A Room of One's Own. The transition is marked by a world-shaking cacophony of rushing trains and strobing light, offering a fitting conclusion to this fond exploration of Woolf's text.
