In the News
BLUE/ORANGE Review
Source: Nashville Scene2/13/08
by Martin Brady
Whether zeitgeist or pure coincidence, three local theater companies opened plays last weekend that in varying degrees focus on elements of torture, totalitarianism or high-pressure interrogation. In each instance, the goal is the determination of truth, insofar as language and circumstances allow.
Actors Bridge Ensemble’s Nashville premiere of Blue/Orange has less to do with politics and more to do with class, race and professional one-upmanship. Joe Penhall’s taut drama is brisk, particularly considering that it plays out over three fairly long acts. The setting is a British mental hospital, where a black man named Christopher is being held for observation and evaluation. On the surface he appears normal enough, but upon closer questioning by young Dr. Flaherty, he claims that he is the son of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and that be believes the color of oranges to be blue. Flaherty wants to admit Christopher for longer-term treatment and seeks the approval of the older consulting physician, Dr. Smith. Hereafter, the playing field shifts uneasily, and the greater battle emerges between the two doctors, whose disagreements seem rooted more in bureaucratic gamesmanship and power plays than in concern for their patient.
Each act is defined by intense inquisitions—doctor/patient, doctor/doctor—laced with occasional psychiatric jargon, literary allusions and, more critically, incendiary personal accusations that push the emotional debate into murkier waters.
The verbal sparring takes place on set designer Don Griffiths’ cool, ice-blue flooring, which confines the players like the combatants in a boxing match. The performances, under the direction of Nashville newcomer Kate Al-Shamma, display a keen awareness of Penhall’s sharp-edged ironies and enigmatic motivations. Jon Royal as the patient, Brandon Boyd as young Flaherty and Bill Feehely as the older Smith navigate the psychological land mines with a solid ensemble feel.
