‘Nothing really matters except the courage to be yourself’: Emma Corrin to star in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando in the West End

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Emma Corrin will take to the stage for Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of Orlando by Virginia Woolf, it was announced Friday (29 July).

The actor, who played Princess Diana in the hit Netflix series The Crown alongside Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, has not starred in a stage performance since 2018.

Orlando, the 1928 novel by Woolf, is inspired by the family history of the author’s aristocrat friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West, and is widely considered a feminist classic and groundbreaking exploration of gender identity.

“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,” said director Michael Grandage in a statement accompanying the announcement.

“It is one of the most surprising stories in the English language, and with its inspiring vision of all bodies having equal rights to love, I’m delighted that MGC is returning to the West End with Emma Corrin to bring this timely story to a whole new audience.”

The subject matter is apt for Corrin, who spoke candidly about their gender and sexuality in an interview for Vogue’s August cover story.

Corrin, who uses they/them pronouns, said: “In my mind, gender just isn’t something that feels fixed and I don’t know if it ever will be; there might always be some fluidity there for me.

“I feel much more seen when I’m referred to as ‘they,’ but my closest friends, they will call me ‘she,’ and I don’t mind, because I know they know me,” the Golden Globe winner added.

An opening date has not yet been announced for Orlando starring Corrin.