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Book Cover for: Blue/Orange, Joe Penhall

Blue/Orange

Joe Penhall

In a London psychiatric hospital, an enigmatic patient claims to be the son of an African dictator - a story that becomes unnervingly plausible. An incendiary tale of race, madness and a Darwinian power struggle at the heart of a dying National Health Service, Blue/Orange premiered at London's Cottesloe Theatre in April 2000 and transferred to the West End in 2001.

Award-winning writer Joe Penhall first rose to prominence in 1994 with his Royal Court play Some Voices and he has been described by the Financial Times as 'one of the finest playwrights of his generation.' Blue/Orange is an accessible and vibrant play, which explores a number of important issues and which makes it a good choice to study. This includes themes of race and representation, sanity and insanity (and in particular the social structures, stigma and complexity surrounding schizophrenia), as well the political context of New Labour and spin, and questions of prejudice and difference.

This Student Edition features expert and helpful annotation, including a scene-by-scene summary, a detailed commentary on the dramatic, social and political context, and on the themes, characters, language and structure of the play, as well as a list of suggested reading and questions for further study and a review of performance history.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Methuen Drama
  • Publish Date: Feb 15th, 2012
  • Pages: 192
  • Language: English
  • Edition: Critical - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.70in - 5.00in - 0.60in - 0.40lb
  • EAN: 9781408140918
  • Categories: European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh

About the Author

Penhall, Joe: - "Joe Penhall's plays include Some Voices (1994); Pale Horse (1995); In Love and Understanding (1997); The Bullet (1998), Blue/Orange (2000 - Evening Standard Best Play Award, the Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play and the 2001 Olivier Award for Best New Play), Haunted Child (2011), Birthday (2012) and Sunny Afternoon (2014)."
Clements, Rachel: - Rachel Clements is Lecturer in Drama, Theatre & Performance at the University of Manchester.
Stevens, Jenny: - Jenny Stevens was an Associate Lecturer for the Open University and currently combines educational consultancy work with teaching and writing. She is the co-author with Pamela Bickley of Essential Shakespeare: The Arden Guide to Text and Interpretation (2013) and Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama: Text and Performance (2016).
Megson, Chris: - Chris Megson is Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has taught and published widely in the field of modern drama, and is editor of The Methuen Drama Book of Naturalist Plays. Other works include: Get Real: Documentary Theatre Past and Present (with Alison Forsyth, 2011), and Modern British Playwriting: The 70s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations (2012).
Nichols, Matthew: - Matthew Nichols graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2003 and has been teaching and leading outstanding Drama and Performing Arts departments for over a decade. Matthew also has extensive experience at a senior level with several exam boards, and was responsible for writing one of the reformed GCSE qualifications in Drama. In addition, Matthew works with schools, colleges, universities and theatres across the country. Matthew is a successful and sought after Drama education consultant, and was one of the founders of Drama Defined, which specialises in delivering high quality Drama education courses to staff and students. Matthew is currently Head of Drama at Manchester Grammar School. You can reach him on Twitter @matthew_drama.

Praise for this book

'Besides interrogating the very idea of madness, Blue/Orange explores the connection between ethnicity and perceptions of mental health....With a real deftness of touch, the play probes notions of authority. It illuminates the way psychiatry can be strategic - and anatomises the politics of medical care.'
Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard (London), 5.11.10
'In the way of great comedy, Blue/Orange touches on great themes: self-advancement at the expense of others, perceptions of sanity'
Claudia Pritchard, Independent on Sunday, 7.11.10