What does it mean to live across centuries, to shift from Lord to Lady to something in between? Belvoir St Theatre’s Orlando, adapted by Carissa Licciardello and Elsie Yager from Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel, sets out to answer that question in a kaleidoscopic swirl of gender, history, and identity.
First published in 1928, Woolf’s Orlando was inspired by her lover Vita Sackville-West and quickly became a landmark of queer literature. Its reputation has only grown over the decades, spawning adaptations for film, opera, and now theatre.
With its playful leaps across four centuries and a protagonist who refuses to be pinned down by gender or convention, Orlando has long been considered a dazzling, “unstageable” novel. Belvoir St Theatre embraces the challenge head-on.
As the lights dim, the stage is alive with energy and invention – there are roller skates, a witty “fan dance,” and even a moving solo song number.
The story follows Orlando, a charming young nobleman in Elizabethan England, who slips through time and space, living for centuries and undergoing a startling transformation into a woman. Woolf’s book satirises gender roles and the rigidity of history. Here, Orlando is not one performer, but many.
Shannen Alyce Quan, Janet Anderson, Zarif, and Nic Prior each carry a different Orlando through the ages. They are joined by Amber McMahon as Queen Elizabeth, Emily Havea as the enigmatic Sasha, and Nyx Calder as Nicholas Greene. Together, the ensemble embodies Woolf’s idea of Orlando as a figure beyond the individual; an idea more than a person.
There is no question that this is a bold and ambitious production. David Fleischer’s set shifts nimbly across eras, with a faded, murky mirror as its statement piece, reflecting the audience back at themselves.
Nick Schlieper’s lighting carves striking tableaux, and Ella Butler’s costumes are as playful as they are period-appropriate. Kelly Ryall’s sound design and Shannon Burns’ choreography add texture and humour, especially in the witty fan sequence and the joyful roller skating. At their best, these elements create moments of delight and surprise.
For all its invention, the production sometimes feels weighed down by its ambition. The adaptation’s determination to compress Woolf’s sprawling novel into four distinct eras makes the narrative feel fragmented. At times, I found myself struggling to stay engaged.
The play’s intellectual and thematic richness – gender fluidity, historical upheaval, self-reinvention – is clear, but the emotional through-line is less so. For all the skill and commitment of the cast, I left the theatre admiring the artistry more than feeling moved by it.
Orlando is a brave attempt to stage what many consider unstageable. It bursts with theatrical flair and showcases the immense talent of its ensemble. Yet it doesn’t quite cohere into the transformative experience it promises.
Still, for audiences intrigued by Woolf, or by theatre that dares to experiment, there are moments here – of laughter, spectacle, and joy – that shine brightly. An ambitious theatrical experiment with flashes of brilliance, Orlando is a show that some will find exhilarating, others perplexing. But it’s one that is undeniably worth the conversation afterwards.
Orlando runs 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/
Photo credits: Brett Boardman
