Hot Orange review – hoop dreams and true love in bittersweet teen drama

Half Moon theatre, London
Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Naomi Matsvai’s touring play for over-13s evokes two friends’ passions and pressures

‘Hot orange” is the name given to a basketball in this impressive writing debut for young audiences by Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Naomi Matsvai. The title captures the poetic glow of their hourlong two-hander. It conjures, too, the rush of first love, the burn of inherited shame and the lively pace of a sensitive play about a friendship that flickers into something else before being extinguished.

Director Chris Elwell and designer Sorcha Corcoran evoke both a sports court and a school playground through an immersive staging. The actors weave their way through the audience who either stand or sit on graffitied cubes and are handed various items of clothing and props by the performers, even sharing their crisps (Hula Hoops, a nice touch).

At Half Moon theatre, London, until 14 November and on 2 December. Touring in between.

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