''Blue/Orange'' is a play written by English dramatist,

Joe Penhall Joe Scott Penhall (born 1967) is an English-Australian playwright and screenwriter, best known for his award-winning stage play '' Blue/Orange'', the award-winning West End musical ''Sunny Afternoon'' and creating the Netflix original series ' ...

. The play is a sardonically comic piece which touches on race, mental illness and 21st-century British life.

Productions

The play premiered in the

Cottesloe Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. ...

at the Royal National Theatre, London beginning previews from 7 April 2000 with an opening night on 13 April, where it ran in repertory until 23 August, starring

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he ...

as Robert,

Andrew Lincoln Andrew James Clutterbuck (born 14 September 1973), known professionally as Andrew Lincoln, is an English actor. His first major role was as the character Egg in the BBC drama '' This Life'' (1996–1997). Lincoln later portrayed Simon Casey ...

as Bruce and

Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor ( ; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awa ...

as Christoper. The production was directed by

Roger Michell Roger Michell (5 June 1956 – 22 September 2021) was a South African-born British theatre, television and film director. He was best known for directing films such as '' Notting Hill'' and ''Venus'', as well as the 1995 made-for-television f ...

, designed by William Dudley, lighting by Rick Fisher and sound by Neil Alexander. The production transferred to the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

(re-configuring the stalls for an in-the-round setting) in London's West End beginning previews on 24 April 2001, with an opening night on 30 April with Nighy, Lincoln and Ejiofor reprising their roles until 18 August. From 20 August, the second cast featured

Shaun Parkes Shaun Parkes (born 9 February 1973) is an English actor. Biography At 16, Parkes enrolled at Seltec College to study drama. Two years later, he was accepted into RADA. Having acted in both theatre and television support roles, Parkes made his ...

as Christopher,

Neil Stuke Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''. Career Stuke played Matthew ...

as Bruce and

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...

as Robert until the production closed on 15 December 2001. In 2007, an audio production of the play was released starring

Daniel Davis Daniel Davis (born November 26, 1945) is an American film, stage and television actor. Davis is best known for portraying Niles the butler on the sitcom ''The Nanny'' (1993 to 1999), and for his two guest appearances as Professor Moriarty on ...

, Teagle F. Bougere and

Matt Letscher Matthew Letscher is an American actor, director and playwright, known for his roles as Captain Harrison Love in the 1998 American swashbuckler film ''The Mask of Zorro'' and as Colonel Adelbert Ames in the 2003 American film '' Gods and General ...

. In 2008, Plain Clothes Theatre Productions toured the show around the South-West. Venues included the Tobacco Factory, Bristol; and Cheltenham Everyman and the Rondo Theatre, Bath. In 2012 ran at the

Theatre Royal, Brighton The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet. History In 1806 the Prince of Wales (later George IV) gave Royal Assent fo ...

starring

Robert Bathurst Robert Guy Bathurst (born 22 February 1957) is an English actor. Bathurst was born in The Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. In 1959 his family moved to Ballybrack, Dublin, Ireland and Bath ...

Gerard McCarthy Gerard McCarthy (born 31 March 1981) is an actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Biography McCarthy was born in Belfast and attended St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School. They came out as non-binary in 2022 & now use they/them pron ...

and Oliver Wilson. A 2016 revival ran at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

directed by Matthew Xia starred

David Haig David Haig Collum Ward (born 20 September 1955) is an English actor and playwright. He has appeared in West End productions and numerous television and film roles over a career spanning four decades. Haig wrote the play '' My Boy Jack'', w ...

as Robert,

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is a British actor. Prominent both on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nomin ...

as Christopher and Luke Norris as Bruce. A 2019 production ran at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

directed by Daniel Bailey starred Thomas Coombes as Bruce,

Richard Lintern Richard Charles Lintern (born 8 October 1962) is an English stage, voice and screen actor. Early life Lintern was born in Taunton, Somerset. He studied English Literature at Durham University. He subsequently won a scholarship to the Royal A ...

as Robert and Ivan Oyik as Christopher. A 2021 production will tour

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Ox ...

and Royal & Derngate, Northampton directed by James Dacre and starring

Giles Terera Giles Terera (born 14 December 1976) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the theatre, particularly in the original cast of the London production of the musical ''Hamilton'', as Aaron Burr, for which ...

as Robert, Michael Balogun as Christopher and Ralph Davis as Bruce.

Synopsis

Blurb of the published edition: In a London psychiatric hospital, an enigmatic patient claims to be the son of an African dictator - a story that becomes unnervingly plausible. ''BLUE/ORANGE'' is an incendiary tale of race, madness and a Darwinian power struggle at the heart of a dying

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Film adaption

In 2005, the play was adapted into a BBC television film directed by Howard Davies starring Brian Cox, John Simm and

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Orange 2000 plays English plays Off-Broadway plays Laurence Olivier Award-winning plays West End plays British plays adapted into films