Hot Orange
by
Amal Khalidi and Tatenda Matsvai
Half Moon
Hot Orange is a play for teenagers that explores friendship and queer desire. Set on a basketball court on a housing estate in Peckham, London, the action moves between the present where 18 year old Tandeki and Amina have an awkward encounter in a cafe back to their past. We see them meet as eight year olds, bond over basketball and enjoy an intense friendship that is brutally cut short when Tandeki’s mum relocates the family.
Writer Tatenda Matsvai, who also played Tandeki, described the inspiration for the play as:
the memories that Amal Khalidi, my Hot Orange co-writer, and I shared about our early interactions with relationships. We imagined a Disney princess and prince on a basketball court watching older people navigate relationships. We thought about what it looked like for queer, young people, when they wanted to the prince, but could be the princess. How do you look back at that first crush without shame?
Staged in the round with the audience moving around the action and the performers interacting with the audience, the play vividly conveyed the intensity of the two characters as 10 year olds navigating school, parents and siblings and the expectations for their different cultures. Amina is a Muslim of British and North African Heritage and Tandeki is a Christian of British Zimbabwean heritage. Amina knows she is queer but is not out to her family, Tandeki is questioning her sexuality. When her mum learns that she and Amina have shared a kiss she sends her off to a Christian summer camp and when Tandeki returns, it’s to a new house and new location, a long way from Peckham. When the two protagonists meet in the present as 18 year olds, there is tension, hurt and awkwardness to negotiate.
Everything Theatre gave the production 4 starts and described it as:
“Brave, bold, provocative and lyrical…. his smouldering immersive production is an important and exploratory tale of teenage love….. Exquisitely crafted, brave and beautiful…just extraordinary…. This is daring new writing and an enjoyable watch for teens and adults alike. We are enormously lucky to have such quality work in the children’s theatre sector, but I could easily see this production going on to be played at leading-edge venues like the Bush or the Kiln. I am excited to see what heights it and its writers reach in the future.”
About the writers
Amal Khalidi is an interdisciplinary theatre-maker and faciltator who specialises in working with community groups. Tatenda Matsvai is a writer, performer and spoken work artist whose second play for Half Moon Brave Bettie is currently in development for Half Moon.
Resources
Stage of Half Moon page for Hot Orange including interviews with the authors, a section of script, insights into the design and creation process and more photos.
On demand access to the recorded version of the play filmed at the Half Moon
Find out more about Tatenda's latest play, Brave Bettie
Credits:
copyright and credits: text by Kate Dorney, images by Stephen Russell, assets from the Stages of Half Moon website. Citation: Kate Dorney 2025 'Hot Orange ', Black Theatre History Month project