Hot Orange (2023)

White Horse Road
9 Nov - 2 Dec 2023
Age range: 13+
Hot Orange advertising

Available to stream on our On Demand platform

It’s summer. It’s hot. Like really hot. Like ice pop after melting ice pops hot. Like orange midday sun hot.

Across the divide of a scorched basketball court two girls meet, shoot hoops and discover their shared obsessions make them inseparable friends. But will faith, growing pains and the darker reactions of others get in the way of that long, hot, orange summer?

A decade later the past walks back into view when 18-year-old Amina is confronted by her childhood best friend Tandeki. Can they reignite the spark of friendship by untangling their hurt feelings, or are some heartbreaks just too hard to mend?

Hot Orange follows Amina and Tandeki as they navigate what it takes to sustain love and friendship beyond childhood idealism and the moment you fall in love.

Hot Orange, by Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Naomi Matsvai, was a production from Half Moon, the UK’s leading small-scale young people’s venue and touring company. It was presented in their multi-award winning immersive theatrical style, exquisitely framed within an evocative soundscape.

Hot Orange was initially developed as part of Narratives of Empathy and Resilience, a major artform development project that took place in 2021 and was a continuation of Half Moon’s long-term ambition to create stories that reflect our diverse community, as well as support under-represented artists in developing their practice.

The show toured to ten venues in November and December 2023.

In November 2023 Hot Orange was nominated for two Off West End Theatre for Young Audiences Awards for:

⭐️ BEST PERFORMANCE | Tatenda Naomi Matsvai and Yasmin Twomey
⭐️ BEST WRITING | Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Naomi Matsvai

In January 2024 Hot Orange became a finalist in the Off West End Offies Awards for Theatre for Young Audiences.

⭐️ BEST WRITING | Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Naomi Matsvai

The production contained references to attitudes and language choices expressing negative opinions about same-sex relationships.

Hot Orange is available to watch on our On Demand streaming platform. The film has closed captioning and is available with Audio Description.

Watch now

Supported by The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation.

Production photos

Cast List

Creative Team

Videos

Marketing

Hot Orange Rules photo set

Rehearsal photos

Model box and set images

Press and audience comments

Miscellaneous and on tour

Interview with Tatenda Naomi Matsvai

Script extract

Thank you

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