Blue/Orange

Blue/Orange is a play about mental illness, race, and ambition.

Emily is a young, earnest psychologist-in-training whose patient, Juliet, is nearing the end of her 28-day mandatory stay at the hospital. She’s become convinced that Juliet, a young black woman from London, is schizophrenic, not suffering from borderline personality disorder, as Emily's mentor, Hilary, believes.

Hilary is an ambitious, masterfully manipulative woman who sees Juliet as a case for her future book, which posits there is a cultural reason for the high rates of mental illness in the British Afro-Caribbean community.

The women clash as to whether or not Juliet should leave the hospital, or remain a patient. Where will she get better, in a council estate in London or in the confines of the mental ward? They also disagree as to how to interpret Juliet’s perceptions. Are her perceptions of the world indicative of mental illness, or simply a different way of seeing things?

Blue/Orange is fascinating because the audience is never sure of the women’s motives, and whether they truly have Juliet’s interests in mind. It’s not clear to what extent they care about Juliet versus their own careers. Psychologists manipulate their patient, and vice versa. By the end of the play, one thing was clear to me: these women should not be in the business of psychology. This play made me think about how society defines normal behavior and sanity, and how these definitions can both harm and help people. I would recommend this play to people who enjoy psychological drama, or really anyone who just enjoys a good story.


Jessie L
UC-Berkeley