BLUE/ORANGE
OSO Arts Centre
★★★★★
“Raw, tense and full of dark humour”
At one point in Joe Penhall’s scathing drama, “Blue/Orange”, junior psychiatrist Dr Flaherty asks her patient “Are you out of your mind?”. A little later, her senior consultant asks the very same question of her. This subtle yet significant repetition is typical of Penhall’s writing, in which every word of the script counts. Set entirely within the confines of a hospital meeting room, this sharp and gripping drama turns the tables with dizzying frequency. It is fitting that director Lydia Sax has staged it in the round, allowing the audience to view the dramatic perspectives from every angle. Her expert and concise staging brings each shifting viewpoint into sharp focus.
Written at the turn of the millennium, the narrative focuses on the power battles between the senior consultant Dr Smith (Ciaran Corsar) and the trainee doctor Flaherty (Muireann Gallen). Central to their conflict is the question of whether to release Christopher (Andre Bullock), a patient who believes he is the son of dictator Idi Amin. The script is a quarter of a century old now, but it is striking how much it feels as though it could have been written yesterday. Only small details – such as smoking indoors – remind us of the period setting. Its relevance today still rings loud and clear as it explores mental health, racism, and the power struggles within a crumbling NHS. And by switching the role of Dr Flaherty from the original male to a female character, Sax has added further dimensions that touch on sexism and chauvinism too.
The setting is as stark as the outlook. Just two chairs and a table, on which sits a bowl of oranges. The scenes are punctuated by Gabriel Burns’ punchy soundscape, while his lighting frames the action with a claustrophobic clinicalism. The oranges are bathed in a shaft of blue light. There is more than one reality going on here. Is Christopher’s subjective truth any less real than the medical consensus?
Christopher has been diagnosed with ‘borderline personality disorder’. The key is in the first word. In the play, many borderlines are crossed: professional, personal and political. And consequently, our sympathies are dragged, kicking and screaming, in many directions. It becomes possible to see the other sides clearly and agree with everything even while opposing them. Of course, this verbal chicanery relies on outstanding casting, and this is where this production certainly comes up trumps. Andre Bullock portrays Christopher with outstanding authenticity and attention to detail. Simple tics, restless leg jittering lend physicality to an emotional and mood-swinging excavation of his character that is frighteningly genuine. Dr Flaherty is initially sympathetic to him, despite being intent on upping his sectioning from level two to three in order to detain him further. Gallen’s initially bright-eyed portrayal captures the duplicity remarkably well, uncovering even darker sides as she falls deeper and deeper into the traps she, and others, have dug for her. Corsar, as the man in charge, more openly lays his motives on the table. Dr Smith wants Christopher out, mainly to free up a bed in the hospital. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Corsar’s powerhouse performance waver’s wildly between haughty reasoning and undisguised manipulation.
Christopher is ultimately a victim, not so much of his condition as the failings of the system that is supposed to treat him. The more Flaherty and Smith circle each other, the more Christopher is caught in the web. It is a powerful indictment, representing the cycle of failure that still spins to this day. That Penhall offers no resolve, no way out, is integral to the story. What saves the play from doom and gloom is the inherent humour and satire, of which the cast have an expert grasp. It doesn’t soften the blows. In fact, it gives them a clearer hook. The racism is shocking, but more shocking is how the two professionals use it as weapons against each other. We are brought back to mind to the question “are you out of your mind?”. Ironically, the person that this is least relevant to is the patient.
“Blue/Orange” is utterly compelling. Raw, tense and full of dark humour, it remains topical for many reasons. You come away almost believing that oranges could be blue, such is the power and authority that this cast bring to the stage. Urgent and entertaining – administered in one potent prescription.
BLUE/ORANGE
OSO Arts Centre
Reviewed on 1st May 2026
by Jonathan Evans
Photography by Kinga Dulka
