★★★

“navigates the labyrinth of language and identity with thought-provoking ambition”

There is much to applaud in the ambitious premise of “Woo Woolf.” Choosing Virginia Woolf as a textual guide to explore themes of immigration and identity is a bold and intellectually promising approach. The production immediately draws us into the world of Mary, a dancer moving alone through a crowd with headphones on, an image that cleverly constructs a liminal space between reality and inner consciousness.

The play is built around a compelling trifecta of performers: Chien-Hui Yen as the translator Mary, Wency Lam as the dancer Mary, and Francesca Marcolina as the Oracle Mary. The opening, where three Marys deconstruct the meaning of words, is well-paced and showcases a coherent performative energy. A particular strength lies in the production’s nuanced use of native languages, which provides moments of genuine connection and humour for the shared heritage audience. The witty, kung fu-staged disagreement over the word “Olive” is a true highlight, perfectly aligning with the Voila Festival’s spirit of challenging linguistic dominance.

However, the core issue lies in an imbalance of its narrative strategy. Director Xiaonan Wang did her best to bringing the immigrants story together, while the show relies heavily on the audience to piece the story together, resulting in a first half where the identities and dynamics of the three characters remain frustratingly blurred. This leads to a noticeable disconnect between the intellectual text and its physical staging.

The references to Virginia Woolf, though plentiful, often skim the surface of her well-known quotes. The physical choreography, while formalistic, often lacks theatrical transformation, and a segment on childbirth feels awkward, exposing a conceptual approach that would benefit from more grounded life experience.

Amidst these challenges, Chien-Hui Yen delivers a captivating performance as the translator Mary. Her devotion is standing out, and the moment she breaks the fourth wall in Taiwanese is a raw and powerful dramatic peak, proving the production’s potential for breathtaking intimacy.

Ultimately, Woo Woolf navigates the labyrinth of language and identity with thought-provoking ambition. Though it offers moments of genuine insight, its many intriguing parts never quite fuse into a cohesive whole. With a more refined script and clearer direction, it could become the resonant work it strives to be.

THE GREAT GATSBY at the Cockpit Theatre

★★★

“the repercussions of Jay Gatsby’s gender swap are not fully explored in an otherwise faithful revival of the story”

F Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” needs no introduction. The title has entered the language to the extent that everybody now thinks they own a slice of it. Since its publication nearly a century ago it has been the subject of intense analysis, numerous adaptations and various eclectic interpretations. Even the word ‘Gatsby’ was added to the Collegiate Dictionary in 2003. So prolific is its presence that any new presentation, like with the works of Shakespeare, is under pressure to find a new way of looking at it.

Scar Theatre, the Oxford based collective, have grabbed the challenge with both hands by making ‘he’ a ‘she’. The concept appears to be its main selling point so it’s no big reveal or spoiler. It is potentially a fascinating angle to take, although the repercussions of Jay Gatsby’s gender swap are not fully explored in an otherwise faithful revival of the story. Nick Carraway (Ethan Bareham) remains the narrator, slipping into and out of the action as he relates his memories of that long hot summer to his analyst – a device ‘borrowed’ from Baz Luhrmann.

Bareham’s is a natural performance, capturing the essence of Nick Carraway – the unwitting and slightly baffled hero in a world where he doesn’t belong. A slight figure who hints at just the right amount of disdain for the careless people that surround him. Particularly Roman Pitman’s Tom Buchanan; a two-dimensional bully who neither deserves, nor quite pulls off, the whiff of innate privilege that follows him like an unpleasant odour. Lily Carson, as Daisy Buchanan, has the stiffness that serves her well in her cheerless marriage, but she somehow fails to loosen up sufficiently when reunited with the so-called love of her life in Gatsby.

A nod to queerness and feminism, it remains just that; with not enough exploration to earn its advertised status. Emily Serdahl, in the title role, cuts a formidable figure that affirms her ability to succeed ‘in a man’s world’, yet it is impossible to believe that her ambition stems from a deep longing for Daisy. As a pair, their declarations of love are often words without spark or real meaning. We also grapple with the credulity of Gatsby’s backstory (her serving as an officer in the Great War by impersonating a man – for example) which is repeatedly brushed aside rather too efficiently.

There are atmospheric moments, aided by Vanessa Silva’s movement direction and Finley Bettsworth’s moody lighting. The underside of the American Dream is vividly portrayed during the brief visits to Fitzgerald’s ‘Valley of Ashes’. Fitzroy ‘Pablo’ Wickham, as the murderously doomed mechanic George Wilson, is both pitiable and menacing – spoilt only by the writers’ tinkering with the final showdown that dilutes the sense of tragedy. It is a clumsy moment that interrupts the natural momentum of a show that elsewhere ebbs and flows like an unreliable memory. Such inconsistencies do show up quite starkly against the stylised background.

Peter Todd and Mina Moniri (the co-writers and co-directors) have set out to emphasise the queerness that is more covert in the original novel – a subject that has spawned countless debates over the last century. Nick Carraway’s sexuality has been hotly speculated over. This is hinted at here, but like Gatsby’s sapphic makeover, it is more of an abstraction. We are left wanting more. Daisy’s childhood friend Jordan Baker goes some way to addressing this. Played with an impressive, detached coolness by Danielle Nnene, she quietly challenges Gatsby’s motives, yet the credulity is again hindered by Gatsby’s gender.

What survives, though, is the clarity of the story telling. The energy of the parties is matched by the despondency of the underlying wasteland that Fitzgerald prophesised was on the horizon. And much of the iconic original text is intact in this production that does, in fact, underline the ongoing and ceaseless relevance of “The Great Gatsby” in the present day.

Tag Archives: Cockpit Theatre

WOO WOOLF

★★★

Cockpit Theatre

WOO WOOLF

Cockpit Theatre

★★★

“navigates the labyrinth of language and identity with thought-provoking ambition”

WOO WOOLF

Cockpit Theatre

Reviewed on 9th November 2025

by Portia Yuran Li

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE GREAT GATSBY | ★★★ | November 2024

HITS AND PIECES #5 (SPICE GIRLS) | ★★★★ | April 2024

THE THREEPENNY OPERA | ★★★ | September 2023

MY BODY IS NOT YOUR COUNTRY | ★★★ | August 2023

END OF THE WORLD FM | ★★★ | August 2023

WOO WOOLF

WOO WOOLF

WOO WOOLF

THE GREAT GATSBY

★★★

Cockpit Theatre

THE GREAT GATSBY at the Cockpit Theatre

★★★

“the repercussions of Jay Gatsby’s gender swap are not fully explored in an otherwise faithful revival of the story”