General News
7 September, 2026
Orlando ready to hit the stage
WARRNAMBOOL Theatre Company is excited to announce its upcoming production of ‘Orlando.’
Adapted for the stage by Neil Bartlett from the celebrated novel by Virginia Woolf, and first performed in London’s West End in 2022 (starring Emma Corrin), Orlando begins in the court of Queen Elizabeth I.
Orlando’s extraordinary journey travels through wars, revolutions, romance, and social change, crossing boundaries of time, gender, and identity along the way.
Playful and poetic, Orlando searches for freedom to be at home in their own life, a story that remains as daring and relevant today as when Woolf first imagined it and continues to resonate with audiences nearly a century later.
“Orlando was published in 1928, but questions of ‘who am I?’ are just as relevant to audiences now as they were back then,” Warren Easley, director of the production and Warrnambool Theatre Company vice-president said.
“What makes the adaptation so interesting is that Neil Bartlett has included the character of Virginia Woolf herself on stage, writing the novel and transforming into all of the characters that her story puts in Orlando’s way, splitting off from the chorus, getting dressed up and playing all of the various other people who Woolf-as-author throws into her creation’s path.”
Penny McLeod is Warrnambool heatre Company president and producer of Orlando.
“We are so excited to bring thought provoking theatre to Warrnambool,” she said.
“This story was based on real life experiences of Virginia Woolf and her great love, Vita Sackville West, who was the inspiration for the character of Orlando and who the book was dedicated to.”
Dean Field is a producer and vice-treasurer of the company.
“You hear Virginia Woolf and expect serious literature but this script is funny,” he said.
“In her diary in 1935 Virginia Woolf said Orlando was meant to be “half laughing, half serious: with great splashes of exaggeration” and Neil Bartlett has really turned the dial up on the humour.”
The production, proudly supported by the Warrnambool City Council’s community development fund, showcases a talented local cast and creative team who have worked together to bring the world of Orlando, from Tudor England to Constantinople and all the way through to 2026, to life through clever staging and bold costuming.
The roles of Orlando and Mrs Grimsditch are performed by a double cast.
Rachel Pitt-Lancaster and Kate Head will perform on Saturday, September 12, Thursday September 17 and a matinee on Saturday September 19.
Dusk Baulch and Angela Verspay will perform on Sunday, September 13, Friday September 18 and an evening performance on Saturday, September 19.
For more information and tickets contact the Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool.
* Photos courtesy Greta Punch.
