Belvoir St Theatre is excited to present Carissa Licciardello and Elsie Yager’s joyous adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s most beloved and brilliant novel, Orlando, premiering 30 August.
Orlando is a young courtier who journeys through 400 years of history in search of love, identity, and purpose. As the world shifts from Elizabethan courts to Victorian industry, so too does Orlando, defying gender and tradition to become something entirely their own.
The Scoop had the chance to sit down with Janet Anderson, who is sharing the title role alongside Shannen Alyce Quan, Nic Prior and Zarif. Janet talks all things Orlando, including the rehearsal process so far and what Orlando’s journey says about self. Read the full interview below.
How did you first connect with the story of Orlando? Was it through the novel, a potential previous production, or was it this one?
I actually first connected with Orlando through the film with Tilda Swinton. I remember scrolling through Tumblr in my teenage years and seeing stills from it, and then kind of following my curiosity and watching the film. My breath was taken away by the costumes and the lavish sets, and just how extreme it all was. And obviously, it being a deeply queer story as well, really appealed to me. So it was a very special story to me before I even heard of an audition.
Orlando is often celebrated as a queer and trans text ahead of its time. Do you see the story as resonating with the trans experience today?
Yeah, I mean, underneath the comedy and historical references is this message that rings true of the politics of gender in Elizabethan times and even today. It’s about how we allow certain freedoms now, but still have restrictions that were around in Restoration or Victorian eras that we still feel today.
It’s been really nice to be working with a queer ensemble, where we’ve all been able to share our stories and experiences and bring them into the text and the work and the rehearsal room.
That sounds so positive. Has there been anything in the rehearsals so far that has surprised you, or any moments that hit a little bit harder than you expected?
I would say, just how ambitious the production is continues to surprise me. We’re really trying to put everything in and a cherry on top! There’s roller skating, there’s dancing, there’s fire, there’s smoke, there’s lots of lavish costumes and dresses, there’s everything.
Everyone’s putting their whole foot in this one. It’s nice to have a challenge, you know. And I definitely do feel challenged. Every day when we come in, we’re learning something new, a new routine or a new trick on the roller skates. It’s definitely keeping me active and awake.
Has there been anything in your previous training or theatrical experiences that has helped you prepare for those challenges?
Definitely. I mean, my time at NIDA helped with learning on the go and learning things quite quickly and being able to pick up choreography. But I think it’s mostly the willingness to try things that I haven’t tried before. And not being scared to look like an idiot or fall over and having to really throw myself into the deep end of this production.
It’s so nice to be in a cast of seven. In the previous shows I’ve done, it’s been either just me or one other actor, so it’s nice to feel the real support and camaraderie there.
It sounds like you’ve really built a wonderful community. What kinds of conversations has this production sparked among the cast and creatives about gender, identity and history?
Some of us are new to the text, and some of us have either read the book or seen the film or seen previous productions. But it’s been so nice for each actor to bring their own expression to the role. There are four of us who play Orlando, and all four of us bring a very different essence to a very different time in Orlando’s life. To be able to explore within ourselves, but also to explore within the character, is a real joy.
The story does span this massive scope of time. How do you navigate those shifts in time, costume and gender on stage? And are there any particular tools or techniques that you rely on?
Well, I have a bit of a history brain or an inclination towards history to begin with. So I’ve always been interested in those periods in history. I think finding a common language in the movement, the voices and the texts has really helped us as a cast. But each age is kind of encapsulated within an Act.
In the play, there are four Acts, and each has a very different flavour, aesthetic and sound. It’ll be fun to be able to traverse so many different experiences. One that’s gothic, one that’s lively and ‘endless summer,’ as it’s described in the text, and then we start in the ice on the River Thames and Elizabethan England. It’s a dance through history.
Wow, that’s so fun. I am studying to be a high school Drama and French teacher. I was potentially going to pair Drama with History as I think there’s such a treasure trove of information and things we can learn from.
Yeah, it just helps when there are intertextual references to be able to place the text within your prior knowledge. Like to be able to slot in what you’re learning with what you already know, I think, really helps me as an actor when doing a period piece like this.
You said that four actors play Orlando. Which Orlando are you?
I play the second Orlando, Orlando the debutante, when she first appears as a woman. Orlando kind of lives forever, lives so long that they become a hermit and re-emerge as this beautiful lady, Orlando. So that’s the Orlando that I get to embody.
And then Orlando, after me, enters a Victorian period, which is a real period of restriction and superstition, so she’s fighting against how far she’s come with where she’s arrived. We end in modern London, and we see how different London looks now. What things have stayed the same, and how history repeats itself. But I’m very, very pleased that I get to be the Orlando who has pretty dresses and does a lot of dancing.
Amazing. I love the pink dress that’s in the photo.
Oh, yes. I mean, the costume team have been hard at work, chained to the desk, sewing, sewing, sewing. So it’s going to be really spectacular. If you like your theatre theatrical, this is the show for you.
You mentioned the ending. Woolf famously ends the novel with a kind of ambiguous, open-ended note. What do you think that Orlando’s journey ultimately says about the self?
Well, I think it’s about freedom ultimately, freedom of choice and freedom of movement. Orlando, as they move through different periods, takes what they’ve learned and applies it to a new age. But the new age isn’t informed by the old one. I think that where they arrive at the end is an understanding of how little they know, and that the most important thing is trusting in yourself and trusting the process.
That rings true with at least my experience of transition and being a genderqueer person. The further you go into it, the more freedom you allow yourself, the more you kind of come home in a weird way.
Coming home to yourself, that’s a really beautiful image. What do you hope the audiences in this new age take away from this production, not just about gender, but about humanity?
It’s a really joyful show, and we have so much fun on stage. All the different elements, the set and costumes, are so spectacular and inviting. So I hope it reinvigorates audiences’ love of live theatre. And I think that this show really speaks to the tendencies that I have in the shows that I like to see, which are big and bold and ambitious.
So I think, messages aside, I would love audiences just to come and be blown away. To leave wanting to make stuff for themselves, or leave wanting to see more shows, because it’s a really exciting production.
Big, bombastic, action. I love it. Are there any other stories or roles that you’d particularly love to explore? Anything on your bucket list?
I think I would eventually like to do some American plays. There’s some American works like Tennessee Williams and Sam Shepherd and Tracy Bonham, who did August: Osage County. Those kinds of playwrights have interested me, but that’s rather traditional.
I also love new work. I think that on stages, we need to see new Australian work. And I’m always happy to be part of a development and part of crafting something new with an ensemble where everyone gets to have their input. So I gotta say for my bucket list, I don’t even know what’s on there yet, because it hasn’t been written.
My last question is one that we ask everyone we chat to. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to pursue a career in the industry, in the performing arts?
I would say, consume, consume, consume before you produce, produce, produce. Watch as many movies as you can, see as much theatre as you can, really engage with things that you haven’t been to before, whatever that might be, dance or music.
Get as many fingers in as many pies as you can, and you’ll be able to let that inform your work. Your work doesn’t exist in a vacuum. You need a reference. Something that was really apparent in drama school was that the students that thrived had already come with a taste level and point of view. That only comes from a study of the creative arts, study in broad strokes, not necessarily university study.
Orlando runs from 6 to 28 September at the Upstairs Theatre, Belvoir St Theatre, Surry Hills NSW 2010.
TIckets: https://my.belvoir.com.au/overview/13841
Website: https://belvoir.com.au/productions/orlando/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/belvoirst/ and https://www.instagram.com/the_planetjanet/
Photo credits: Brett Boardman
