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When Viriginia Woolf chooses to invite an audience to watch the stage adaptation of her wildly imaginative, rollicking and groundbreaking novel Orlando she is surprised when the characters begin to contest the narrative and demand revisions, including songs, dances, and comic interludes. As the rehearsal progresses aspects of Virginia’s life merge with the lives of the characters. After falling in love with her lead character she is led to the realization of the healing and transformative power of love and art.
There are 27 characters. The original production had a cast of 13 but with more doubling, tripling and quadrupling of parts the play could be done with a cast of 10 (see below). Orlando 1 and 2 could be played by the same male identifying actor. A smaller cast is possible but would require a specific stylistic approach that would enable even more rapid changes of character.
VIRGINIA WOOLF
ORLANDO 1
ORLANDO 2
ORLANDO 3
POEM
TIME
QUEEN ELIZABETH I
SUKEY
FAVILLA
CLORINDA
EUPHROSYNE
SASHA
NICHOLAS GREENE
ROSINA
KITTY
ROSE
NELL
PRUE
SHEL
FOP
POPE
SWIFT
ADDISON
HARRIET/HARRY
MODESTY
CHASTITY
PURITY
NOTE ON CASTING
All casting of roles should be diverse and, except for the three Orlando’s, Shel and Virginia, all roles can be gender fluid. However, the characters should appear and be played as their assigned genders in specific historical periods and geographical locations. Shel should be played by the same male identifying actor who plays Orlando 1 or 2. I suggest that The Poem and Time be played by actors who alternately identify as male, female or non-binary. I also suggest that Queen Elizabeth be played by a male identifying actor. It will be very helpful if the actor playing the role of Time is a very good pianist.
List of Characters — 13 Actors
VIRGINIA WOOLF
ORLANDO 1, FOP
ORLANDO 2, SHEL
ORLANDO 3,
POEM, JOHNATHAN SWIFT
TIME, JOSEPH ADDISON
QUEEN ELIZABETH I, ALEXANDER POPE, NICHOLAS GREENE
SUKEY, ROSINA,
FAVILLA, PRUE, MODESTY
CLORINDA, KITTY, CHASTITY
EUPHROSYNE, ROSE, PURITY
SASHA, NELL
HARRIET/HARRY
List of Characters — 10 Actors
VIRGINIA WOOLF
ORLANDO 1, 2, FOP, SHEL
ORLANDO 3, FAVILLA
POEM, JOSEPH ADDISON
TIME, JONHATHAN SWIFT
QUEEN ELIZABETH I, ALEXANDER POPE, NICHOLAS GREENE, HARRIET/HARRY
SUKEY, ROSINA, PRUE, MODESTY
CLORINDA, KITTY, CHASTITY
EUPHROSYNE, ROSE, PURITY
SASHA, NELL
The basic location is the theater in which it is being performed. The performative frame of the play is that we are watching an open rehearsal of a play Virginia Woolf has written based on her novel Orlando. That play travels from the late 16th Century to the present and includes several imaginary locations.
Buy Script
Explore the script before you license. TRW Perusal Packs and Digital Plays are now available on Heyzine where you can instantly view on any web browser on any device, anytime.
- Anne Bogart
- Kate Whoriskey
- Carol Gilligan
- Ruben Polendo, Artistic Director of Theater Mitu
- Ulrich Baer, NYU University Professor and Virginia Woolf Scholar
