Pulp Reviews: Orlando
Maddie Clark reviews SUDS’ latest production.
Virginia Woolf’s book ‘Orlando’ remains a trailblazer for the queer community. Its themes of identity, romance and attraction, sexism and fitting in are universal. SUDS’ new production, which premiered last night as part of Mardi Gras, is a solid creation of Sarah Ruhle’s adaptation. Complete with a string quartet and score, the production slips up a couple of times, but gets back on its feet.
For those who don’t know, ‘Orlando’ is a tale of a person who lives for centuries; first as a man, and then as a woman. Orlando is an object of desire as both genders. They take many lovers and are offered many more, but their experience of both genders is as instructive today as when it was published in 1928.
Putting this story on stage is a challenge that the SUDS production team manages admirably. The set and costuming are standouts. For the set, a handmade tree looms centre stage and is a constant in the fast-paced action. It’s a wink to Orlando’s dream of writing a book called “An Oak Tree”, although it takes over 200 years for Orlando to write more than one sentence. Actors climb over it, around it, and the tree becomes a metaphor of time and wisdom. This fills nearly the whole size of the small Cellar Theatre, where it's tucked underneath The Refectory.
This works in the play’s favour, as it creates an intimate theatre experience with space for audience participation. The costumes work as well: androgynous vintage blouses and pants, with a theme of peach pink. Sashes and accessories mean the cast can quickly transition between characters.
The first act opens in the 18th century and we are introduced to Orlando. He is an open and earnest lord who wants to be a famous poet, although he is comedically terrible at writing. He is introduced to the English queen, who remarks on his shapely calves and takes him as a lover and companion.
One tricky part of adapting the book to stage is the fast-paced action of the book and its changing settings. The solution: announcing the transitions by reading straight from copies of the book all cast members have. Some of these were made in unison, giving off Year 12 theatresports vibes, but it means the action was easy to follow.
With the English queen, Orlando goes to London and meets Sasha: a Russian princess who he first thinks is a man; foreshadowing his own gender fluidity. Sasha is seen as the archetypal object of desire, and appears as a shadow a couple of times through the play as a bringer of Orlando’s lust.
The second act is where Orlando wakes as a woman. She immediately looks back upon her life as a man with new eyes. Orlando repents how she treated women as a man: in one of my favorite scenes of the play, she sees her sexual relationship with Sasha with new eyes. This scene highlights how living as a woman is a continuation of her personhood. She is the same, but is treated by society differently. As the female Orlando, she has to confront the sexism faced by women. She can’t own property and she is constantly patronised by men.
From here the play loses some of its initial pace. It seems to rush the action, and adds more than where the book ends; so Orlando lives to the present day. The theme of identity gets lost as the play tries to find an ending that ties everything together neatly. It stays away from the political conclusions of the book, and instead focuses on safer themes such as the passage of time.
Putting this aside, the play is definitely worth seeing. The set, costumes and crucially, the story itself, makes for an assuredly exciting theatrical experience and is a good sign of things to come from SUDS in 2020.
Details: You can watch Orlando at the Cellar Theatre at 7pm February 26-28 and March 4-6 and at 1pm and 7pm March 7. Tickets are $5 for ACCESS members, $7 for Concession and $12 for Adult.