Emma Corrin is captivating in compelling stage adaptation of Orlando – review
For those unfamiliar, Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando – adapted for the stage here by Neil Bartlett and directed by Michael Grandage – is something of a unique concept.
An incredibly progressive text for 1928 it plays with gender, identity, time and place, following its protagonist Orlando (portrayed wonderfully here by the captivating Emma Corrin) over several centuries as they navigate a changing and evolving London and the various events and historical figures they encounter along the way.
There’s a lot to take in over this 80-minute (no interval) show which makes for compelling viewing. Intermittently narrated by a chorus of Virginia Woolfs in identical outfits, the story flies by at a lightening place, kicking off at the tail end of the 16th century and winding up hundreds of years later when the novel is published.
We’re introduced to Queen Elizabeth I; we witness the frost fair when the Thames froze; we encounter all the significant people who come and go from Orlando’s long life.
