Orlando is a young nobleman who is drawn into a love affair with Queen Elizabeth I. For a time, life at court is interesting enough, but Orlando yearns for something more.

As he strives to make his way as a poet and lover, his travels keep him at the heart of a glittering tale where gender and gender preferences shift regularly, usually with hilarious results. Orlando takes a spectacularly gleeful frolic through four centuries of gender-defining history that brings Virginia Woolf’s epic story to life.

Kevin Fraser is director of Orlando:

“Orlando is a story that has always intrigued me since I first came across the film in 1992. I like its historical aspect, the almost Shakespearean start to the play and its development through the ages. As a boy I often visited Knowle House and Sissinghurst which are deeply connected with Vita Sackville West and Virginia Woolf and appear in the novel.

“Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando when there were febrile changes in the aristocracy and the class system in Britain. Woolf based Orlando on Vita, with whom she had had a love affair. Vita was also far more promiscuous and would often dress in men’s clothing.

“Orlando is a fabulous romp between genders, a love story and a comedy which at the same time blows apart gender fluidity and makes you wonder why Orlando transforms from a lonely heartbroken man to a woman who struggles to survive without a man to protect her.”

Orlando performs in the Oak Theatre at Titchfield Festival Theatre from 5 – 10 February 2024. For more information including booking tickets please go to http://titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/  or contact our Box Office on 0333 666 3366.