7 / 10
Ruhl’s adaptation of Orlando pulls heavily from the source material, which can end up feeling like a distant narration rather than an emotionally involved story. That said, the cast are all endlessly personable. Laughs abound throughout the duration of the show’s 100-minute runtime
6 / 10
The episodic adventures should be delightful, but they are instead removed and remote, for a compound of reasons. Ruhl’s script relies on narration rather than dialogue (of which there is admittedly relatively little in Woolf’s novel.) Six of the cast members (all but Mac) spend most of their time not as characters but as chorus members. They divvy up their exposition, often one single line after another. And they are often huddled together on a stage that is essentially bare – which results in a vastness that swallows up their lines.
See what the critics are saying about Orlando at Signature Theatre. Read the reviews and learn more about the production.
Signature Theatre has revealed the cast of Spotlight Resident Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando, adapted from Virginia Woolf’s novel and directed by Will Davis.
| 1988 | London |
Original London Production London |
| 2022 | West End |
West End |
