| Blue/Orange | State Theatre Company of South Australia |
|
|
|
|
From the screen writer of the feature film Enduring Love comes Blue/Orange, a tough, funny and utterly absorbing play which has been described as a theatrical cross between a medical examination and a boxing match.
Blue/Orange is an incendiary tale of race, madness and a Darwinian power struggle at the heart of a dying national health system.
Among its many accolades, Blue/Orange has been awarded the Olivier Award for Best New Play (2001), the Evening Standard Best Play of the Year (2000), and the Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play (2000).
“If you’ve got a big mouth, the stage is the place to be,” says Blue/Orange writer Joe Penhall.
“Schizophrenia is one of the last great taboos. Organised crime gets better press.”
In a London public psychiatric hospital, enigmatic patient Christopher claims to be the son of an African dictator, a story that becomes unnervingly plausible. He also insists that oranges are in fact blue.
The play’s three characters are Christopher and his two psychiatrists. The action unfolds over one day. Christopher has been committed to hospital after lewd public behaviour. He’s clearly troubled, but within the inadequate public health system he’s 24 hours away from release unless the doctors can pin down (and agree upon) his illness.
Joe Penhall’s provocative, edgy comedy examines the unspoken politics of institutions, challenges assumptions about ‘normality’ and questions whether sanity is dependent on the colour of your skin.
“Britain’s best new play since Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen. Thrillingly original.” The Guardian
“I came out of Joe Penhall’s new play in a state of hot, black
excitement: emotional, moral and intellectual excitement. How many
plays can claim that?” Sunday Times
“Blue/Orange is a great political play that matches its insights into
personal politics with a passionately felt concern about public
policy.” Tribune
State Theatre Company of South Australia presents
Blue/Orange
By Joe Penhall
Starring Robert Jordan, Renato Musolino, William Zappa
Director Adam Cook
Designer Victoria Lamb
Lighting Mark Pennington
Venue: Dunstan Playhouse
Dates: 4 - 26 July 2008
Bookings: www.bass.net.au
|
|
Contact: |
