“The whole show has a fey enchantment to it that will appeal to many, even if the main character remains an enigma”
In this adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s uncategorizable novel Orlando, adaptor Neil Bartlett has taken the unusual step of putting the author on stage. Not content to offer us just one Virginia Woolf though, he offers us nine. It’s a clever way to tip off the audience that Orlando is no ordinary biography of an Elizabethan young man, and that his creator is no ordinary writer. In this joint production between Michael Grandage and Nimax Theatres at the Garrick Theatre, audiences have the opportunity to see Emma Corrin (fresh from her success on TV in The Crown) on stage as the hero/heroine Orlando. Corrin is surrounded by a cast of performers who shift from character to character, gender to gender, and age to age. They are all as chameleon like as the eponymous character in Woolf’s classic novel.
Wait a minute, I hear you say, hero/heroine Orlando? What does that mean? For those who haven’t read Woolf’s Orlando, the story goes something like this. An aristocratic young man, born in 1581 at the height of the Elizabethan Age, wakes up to find he has transformed from male into female after a particularly hard night partying in Istanbul where he is the English Ambassador to the Turkish Court. Lady Orlando, as s/he now becomes, returns to England to find at first hand, all the difficulties of living while female. From inheritances she cannot claim; clothes she cannot wear, and a husband that she must take, Lady Orlando struggles through the Georgian, Victorian and finally, early twentieth century, asking the unanswerable: Who Am I? Did I mention that Orlando is also a time traveller, and ages only twenty years in four centuries? What Virginia Woolf has given us in Orlando is a novel that isn’t science fiction, or a biography. Written in 1928, it is, instead, a thinly disguised celebration of her lover, Vita Sackville-West, and part of a series of revolutionary writings on a woman’s right to self-expression and self-determination. What makes it revolutionary, even today, is that Woolf sees these aims through the eyes of a human who can experience life through the perspective of shifting gender.
Adaptor Neil Bartlett has set himself a complex and challenging task with Orlando. First there is Woolf’s novelistic prose style and the lavish descriptions, as Orlando is not just a courtier, but a poet. How do you transfer Woolf’s prose style to the dramatic language of the theatre? To his credit, Bartlett gets around the problem by bringing on all those Virginias to make Orlando’s case for him/her. Corrin, as Orlando, is an actor up to the challenge of making Orlando come alive on stage. Corrin’s portrayal of Orlando’s innocence and naivety contrast sympathetically with the ever changing cast of characters who attempt to use Orlando for their own ends. They fail because Orlando is outside their experience of humans. And it is this, paradoxically, that makes the production ultimately unsatisfying. It’s because no one, including Orlando, has a really good answer to the question “Who Am I?” Orlando becomes a narrative, rather than a drama, relying heavily on quotes from Woolf, Shakespeare, Pope, and others, to create settings, rather than a plot.
Bartlett shows his theatrical skills in Orlando not so much as a playwright, but in his previous experience as a director. It is in direction that this production really sparkles. And as a director, Michael Grandage’s experience and artistry shows in the way he gathers together his talented cast of eleven, and gives them the space to shine in a variety of roles on a bare bones stage. The stage is populated from time to time with beds, backdrops, and costume racks. (Set and costume design by Peter McIntosh). Just enough to set the scene among a host of short scenes as the centuries pass. Deborah Findlay as Mrs Grimsditch is the one constant in Orlando’s life, mysteriously appearing at random moments to advise on everything from appropriate dress to the date. She also provides a quick sketch of historical events to bring young Orlando (and the audience) up to speed. Findlay’s performance is both endearing and accessible—allowing everyone to anchor themselves among the shifting seas of Woolf’s imagination. The whole show has a fey enchantment to it that will appeal to many, even if the main character remains an enigma.
There are lots of theatrical moments in this production of Orlando, and the Garrick Theatre is the perfect space to show them off. There’s a lot of sly humour in the dialogue as well. This show is a good choice if you’re looking for something different from the usual ballet and pantomime offerings this holiday season. If you’re intrigued by the idea of Virginia Woolf reinterpreted for the stage, why not give Orlando a chance?
“another thought-provoking production in the Voila! Europe Festival“
Performer Natasha Stanic Mann presents a devised solo piece called The Return as part of The Cockpit Theatre’s Voila Europe! 2022 Festival. With the assistance of a group of international artists, Stanic Mann has put together a short show, performed in English and Croatian, which explores the hidden consequences of war, and the migrations that are often the result of blood-soaked conflict.
Stanic Mann is an engaging artist. She welcomes us in her world with smiles and humour, music and dance. This lightness of touch is essential when one considers that the story she tells us is really one of tragedy heaped upon tragedy. The Return is the story of her family, who have been involved in not just one migration as the result of war, but many. It’s a common experience in what used to be known as Eastern Europe—and Natasha, as she introduces herself—gives us a quick lesson in the complicated geography of that region. It begins in Ukraine with her great grandparents, moves to Bosnia where her father was born, and then Croatia. Bosnia and Croatia used to be part of one country, and Natasha also educates us about the harrowing breakup of Yugoslavia, told through the experiences of one who lived it. At every step, Natasha deals with the difficulties of moving countries, languages, cultures—not helped by petty bureaucrats in each new situation. She has come onto the stage barefoot, she tells us, because bare feet are a metaphor for migrants. This is heavy material, but at any moment, Natasha engages our attention, and our sympathy, with a Czech folk song, Doris Day singing Che sera, sera, or a poem from her own Croatia. The Return will be an eye opener for anyone whose family has been rooted in the same spot for hundreds of years. The Return is also a reminder that war can come back at any moment to uproot the lives of a new generation.
This is rich, compelling material for a drama. If anything, fifty-five minutes is not really long enough to get to grips with it, in a way that is completely satisfying. But given that this is a solo performance, Stanic Mann makes a good beginning in the time allowed. Assisted by director Andres Velasquez, and artistic collaborators Filomena Campus, Emily Harwood, Steve North and Valentino Nioi, Stanic Mann engages directly with her audience. There is very little in the way of staging. Instead, she readily approaches audience members, asking questions, introducing songs and poems in a friendly, one to one way. She makes her points lightly. It is the lighting (Josephine Tremelling) and sound (Chris Prosho) that adds the darker, more tragic mood.
The Return is another thought-provoking production in the Voila! Europe Festival, and an opportunity to see some of Europe’s most intriguing emerging companies and their latest work.
If the work of Natasha Stanic Mann and her fellow artists, and other, equally experimental companies, appeals to you, keep an eye open for future festivals like this one at the Cockpit Theatre.
