This is what critics are saying about Emma Corrin in the West End adaption of Orlando
Emma Corrin is starring in Orlando at the Garrick Theatre and the first reviews are in. (David M. Benett/Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Emma Corrin is starring in a new play based on Virginia Woolf’s iconic novel, Orlando on London’s West End.
The Crown star is playing the lead role in their return to the West End, previously saying it’s a “huge honour”.
The show is running at the Garrick Theatre until 31 March and tickets are available from London Theatre Direct and Love Theatre.
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The play’s director, Michael Grandage told What’s On Stage: “Neil Bartlett’s joyous new adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando dances through time and gender, challenging us to remember that nothing really matters except the courage to be yourself.”
The show officially opened at the Garrick Theatre on 5 December, with reviews coming in for the new adaption and Corrin’s leading performance.
So, what have the critics said about Orlando?
In a four-star review, What’s On Stage says the lead role is “a part that might have been written for them, full of joy and hope and sense of possibility for the future”.
They continue: “This is a fantastic performance, full of gentle detail – shoulders wriggling in distaste, eyes wide in discovery – and Corrin provides the compelling heart of a problematic play.”
City AM also compliment Corrin, saying they “evoke real star power” and “bring confidence and a huge range to a staggering variety of gender identities”.
They say that Woolf’s premise still feels “fresh” but “Bartlett’s script doesn’t delve particularly deeply into the nuances of what it means to be gender fluid”.
“Instead there’s a lighter touch. Orlando poses questions such as ‘who am I?’, repeated one too many times and feeling a touch reductive,” they add.
The Independent say in a four-star review, that there’s “hard to remember a bolder entrance” than Corrin as Orlando.
The reviewer says they’re “magnificent” in a performance “that feels like a calling card for the stardom that The Crown first promised”.
They add that the show is “true to Woolf’s spirit” and to “all hail the costume designer – also McKintosh – for some seriously stunning creations”.
The plot for the new adaption reads: “In the court of Queen Elizabeth I, the young nobleman Orlando begins his search for identity as he embarks on one of the greatest adventures in all of literature.
“Travelling through time and place he is catapulted into the court of King James, falls in love with a Russian princess, witnesses London freeze over and wakes up under the blazing sun of Constantinople transformed into a young woman.
“She continues her journey up to the present day in search of happiness, self-knowledge and the courage to answer one fundamental question – ‘who am I?’.”
It also stars Olivier Award-winner Deborah Findlay as an all-knowing sidekick, Mrs Grimsditch alongside a company of nine actors who play characters throughout four centuries.
You can find out full ticket details for Orlando at Garrick Theatre below.
How to get Orlando tickets
They’re now available from London Theatre Direct and Love Theatre.
Prices start from £29 and you can book until 31 March.
