Characters
Christopher-24
Bruce-25-30
Robert-50s
Synopsis
Joe Penhall's Blue/Orange, a 3 hander, set in a psychiatric hospital in London, The premise is simple, set in a room with a bowl of oranges at the heart of it. The plays offers a journey of the truth behind right and wrong, professional ego's the questions of sanity and misunderstanding of different cultural backgrounds
Penhall wanted to write a play about his surroundings in West London, an area of life that wasn't being represented within theatre and on stage.
The play has fast paced dialogue exchanges between the characters Bruce (a training Psychologist), Christopher (a patient with questionable schizophrenia) and Robert (an experienced psychiatric Consultant).
I would describe the play as a dark comedy. The content is very serious and reflects the reality of certain cultures and perceptions of life, yet within it there are clever exchanges of comedy, namely Christopher's claim to be the son of the former Ugandan Dictator, Idi Amin.
Monologues and duologues etc...
Pages 5-14 Duologue between training psychiatrist Bruce and patient Christopher. They discuss Christopher's reasons for being there.
Pages 44-56. Duologue between Bruce and his superior Robert. They discuss and disagree on Christopher's mental state and whether he should be released from the psychiatric hospital.
Pages 57-58. Robert is speaking to Christopher, using his own frustrations of life, to convince Christopher to make better choices, and to prepare him for when he is realised from the ward.
Pages 58-81. Duologue between Christopher and Robert. Robert assesses Christopher's sanity and whether he ready to be released.
Pages 85-93. Duologue between Bruce and Robert. Disagreement on Christopher's release
Psychiatry
Race
Ego's
Class
Mental health
London
Africa
Comedy
