The actor and the director Michael Grandage talk about how relevant their staging of Virginia Woolf’s classic work of gender fluidity feels – and remember their own queer battles
Emma Corrin wasn’t yet born when Tilda Swinton took to the screen as Orlando in Sally Potter’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, with a look that would create a whole new aesthetic for gender fluidity. So it’s no little deal for the 26-year-old actor that, even before they step out on to the stage in the role, comparisons are already being made.
A swoony Instagram ad doubles down on the similarity for those who know the film, showing a stream of historic pictures washing past an androgynous beauty shimmering in bleached lace and satin. But, although the palette is similar, the temperature is very different: whereas Swinton was cool and remote, Corrin radiates an invitation to play.
