What does it mean to live beyond the labels we’ve inherited? To move through time without being tethered to one body, one gender, one fixed identity? Belvoir’s Orlando doesn’t simply retell Virginia Woolf’s radical novel, it invites us to question the very structures we take for granted, blurring the lines between who we were, are, and might become. 

Originally penned in 1928 as a semi-biographical love letter to Vita Sackville-West, Orlando remains one of Virginia Woolf’s most inventive and genre-defying works. This new stage adaptation by directors Carissa Licciardello and Elsie Yager reimagines Woolf’s time-travelling, gender-shifting protagonist for a contemporary audience, stretching Orlando’s journey all the way to 2025.

It honours the novel’s playful tone and philosophical depth while carving out its own theatrical language that is physical, fluid, and richly symbolic. Across four centuries, we follow Orlando through royal courts, revolutions, and societal upheavals, but the heart of the story remains deeply personal: the search for self in a world constantly shifting.

Orlando’s journey highlights the historical limits and the social performance of gender while encouraging reflection on what we inherit and what we can choose to become. Rather than providing easy answers, we are invited to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity. Trippy yet never didactic, this adaptation creates plenty of space for introspection.

The first three scenes follow Orlando through the Elizabethan court, the Restoration, and the Victorian era, exposing the constraints of their times and the shifting landscapes of power and identity. Orlando is shared by Shannen Alyce Quan, Janet Anderson and Zarif, whose compelling performances embody Woolf’s sharp critique of patriarchy illuminating the fluidity at the heart of Orlando’s character.

Orlando encounters love, loss, betrayal, and societal expectation, gradually discovering that identity is not inherited but something to navigate, question, and ultimately claim. The audience holds the ironic privilege of hindsight  – seeing with clarity what Orlando can only experience moment by moment. This layered perspective makes the journey deeply affecting: we are not simply witnessing a life unfold, but observing how history repeats, evolves, and continues to shape us all.

With elegant restraint, the production creates a sparse yet evocative setting. A vast dulled mirror frames the backdrop, casting reflections of fragmented and fluctuating selves. Ella Butler’s sumptuous costumes vividly bring each era to life, creating Orlando’s shifting worlds. At times actors glide smoothly on skates, symbolising the circular, dizzying, and sometimes absurd nature of society, culture, and politics. Time here is not always straight; it loops, folds, and repeats. The mesmeric and languid pace of these scenes, challenges our fast-moving minds, inviting us to slow down, simply watch, and reflect.

The final scene delivers a sharp and compelling break from the weight of the past, thrusting us into the urgent present. A palpable shift in energy swept through the audience as we landed in a now familiar world dominated by relentless technology and unceasing speed.

Set in the roaring tunnel of a 2025 tube station, Orlando (portrayed by Nic Prior) now embodies androgyny. When asked to define their gender, they reply with “Both – Neither.” Having lived long enough, Orlando now possesses the rare ability to disconnect and quietly observe their surroundings amid the relentless noise and pace of modern life. At this point, the story transcends Orlando’s personal journey. As we,as an audience are confronted by the noise of our own lives and the conscious effort it requires to truly pause and reflect:  Who we were, where we are, and where we are going.

Time-bending, soul-pricking, and sublime. In a world accelerating beyond comprehension, where life feels both infinite and fleeting, Orlando offers a rare and deeply introspective pause. A hypnotic swirl of time, identity, and reflection – it doesn’t just tell a story, it dares you to see yourself.

Orlando plays at Belvoir St Theatre until 21 Sept. For further detaiks see :https://belvoir.com.au/productions/orlando/

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