In addition to our Blue/Orange engagement activities for local young people, artists and schools, there are many ways you can find out more about the production, its cast and creative team, and the themes explored within the play.
PODCAST
The Play Podcast featuring an interview with director James Dacre and playwright Joe Penhall can be found here.
ABOUT THE PLAY
Videos of the cast and creative team talking about the play’s characters and themes
DEEP-ROUTED
A newly commissioned spoken word film by local writer Tré Ventour, digital creator and filmmaker Chris Lowe, and featuring local community members Joseph Oyewole and Nathan Jones. The film is inspired by themes within the play, interviews and the subjects of mental health, race, prejudice, privilege and history. The film will be available online following its screening at Northampton Filmhouse on 29 November. You can watch the short film below.
A pdf version of DEEP-ROUTED with links to references can be found here.
About the Artists
More recently, his writing has begun to explore ‘neurodivergence while Black’ particularly dyspraxia and autism. And since also doing his MA dissertation on Black soldiers during WW1 and the 1919 Race Riots, he used this project to show how “scholarly” work can be creative. Even art. Presently, he is working on different projects including content on race, whiteness, and anti-Blackness in the Regency period – via Sanditon and s Bridgerton. Whilst his work has taken him around the country and abroad, Tré has lived in Northamptonshire for most of his life, now as a writer having also written for Happy Hood, NN Journal, Diverse Educators, Wonkhe, and more. For more information about Tré Ventour, please click here.
Chris Lowe has been working in the creative industries for nearly twenty years. A passion for learning and an insatiable curiosity has led him to gain experience in almost every creative discipline. Currently Head of Creative for Amplitude Media, a content marketing agency based in Northampton he also teaches photography at the University Of Northampton and has done so for the past seven years.
For the past three years, his attention has been on creating work that is centred around writing for performance and research and has been working with Royal & Derngate and The National Theatre as a digital practitioner. Chris’ current projects include digital development with movement director and performer Jennifer Kay on her solo piece Nothing Special and collaboration with immersive specialists Hydrocracker on their new Royal & Derngate Made In Northampton production Who Cares.
Joseph Oyewole is a member of Silhouette Youth Theatre and recently performed in The Masks We Wear co-production with Royal & Derngate. His experiences of prejudice and mental health issues from a teenage perspective provided valuable insights in the development of DEEP-ROUTED.
Nathan Jones is a local man who has extensive experience of the mental health sector in Northampton. He is a long time member of The Actors Company at Royal & Derngate and has many stories to tell of his life in the town.
Industry Insight videos with cast and creatives discussing their professional roles and careers in the theatre industry. These will be available on the Northants Cultural Education Partnership website following the production.
FURTHER READING
Further reading on issues and themes relating to Blue/Orange. Click here to access lots of further reading resources relating to mental health organisations, Northampton’s history of mental health institutions, Post-Colonialism, the Black Lives Matter Movement, Decolonising Texts and more examples of Tré Ventour’s academic and poetry writing.
NORTHAMPTON FILMHOUSE SEASON
The cast have also curated a special Blue/Orange season at Northampton Filmhouse featuring films that have influenced and inspired their careers. Click here to see what’s on.
OTHER ACTIVITY
We have a number of other events and offers enabling young people and communities to engage with the Blue/Orange production. These include:
- #UnlockTheatre free and discounted ticket offers providing access for local artists and under-represented and socio-economically disadvantaged communities to come and see the play.
- Cast Q&As with Young Company members at Royal & Derngate and in local schools where young people they can ask questions about the process of working on Blue/Orange, actor training and advice on developing an acting career.
SUPPORT
For support and advice on Mental Health issues locally visit:
Northamptonshire Mind – www.northamptonshiremind.org.uk
Mental Health Northants Collaboration – www.mhnc.uk