BENEATH THE

BLUE RINSE

BENEATH THE BLUE RINSE

By Tom Glover

Beneath the Blue Rinse by Tom Glover, an outrageous comedy that exposes how society views the elderly.

When an unscrupulous salesman enters sweet but gullible, Flora Parkin’s house, little does he realise he’s been lured into a trap.  Simon starts to learn what it is like to be vulnerable, exploited, and subjected to the care of others…who may not care at all.  Think ‘Tarantino meets Last of the Summer Wine’.

Tom Glover trained at Hull and Birmingham Universities.  His stage plays include Lights, Camera, Walkies (Gilded Balloon Edinburgh), England Expects (The Curve /Kings Head), Wet Bread (Brighton Fringe/Kings Head), Bin & Gone (Tour).  His award-winning short film Textual Relationship played the BFI and international festivals.

Our tour was in June-July 2018 and included Oxford, Abingdon, Eynsham and Everyman Cheltenham.  We also performed at the 2018 Oxford OffBeat Festival.  Kevin Tomlinson directed the play, with  Abigail Hood as Sound Operator and Stephanie Connell as Sound Designer/Light Technician.

Age Range: 14+, strong language, violence and mild sexual scenes. Parental guidance advised.

THE CAST

Calum Wragg-Smith

Colette Kelly
as Flora Parkin

Georgina Armfield

Chris Bearne
as George Bilstead

Georgina Armfield
Kevin Tomlinson
as Simon Sudgebury

REVIEWS

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“Beneath the Blue Rinse, at first, is an easy enough storyline to grasp – a sleazy sales guy (Simon) tries to con an elderly woman (Flora) – but things rapidly take a quick turn and needless to say from the moment Flora abruptly calls out Simon as a “wanker” things are just not the same. One moment you’re awaiting lemon cake and the next it’s all handcuffs, tea torture and terrorism as an ironic role reversal comes into play which is both hilarious but pivotal on a much larger scale. Exploring societal views on age discrimination Beneath the Blue Rinse is thought-provoking and entertaining – despite fighting on different sides Colette Kelly (Flora) and Kevin Tomlinson (Simon) had remarkable chemistry and timing which only accentuated the absurdity of the developing situation they found themselves in.  Riddled with innuendos, sass and quick wit, the cast of three (adding Chris Bearne as George) executed their roles perfectly, and it was such an enjoyable moment when you heard the wave of laughter ricochet throughout the Unicorn Theatre.  This show reaches a wide demographic and underneath the hilarity of it all the message was admittedly quite hard-hitting.  It’s not only a great piece of theatre, it’s also a wake up call which leaves you quite sombre but also uplifted – a bit of a emotional rollercoaster if you will – as the elderly (literally) fight against perceptions of them as ‘old’ and ‘dependent’. 
Claire Dukes, The Ocelot

“A cherry rompt through the ageing process! Thought provoking humour!  An excellent evening out, should be accessible to students and social care workers.”
Offbeat Festival, Oxford

“A friend asked me to come.  A funny show presenting serious issues.  I see a lot of theatre and it was a high standard throughout.”
Offbeat Festival, Oxford

“Very humerous, and topical, an interesting way of approaching the subject of age!”
Offbeat Festival, Oxford

“A very enjoyable evening.  A good way to introduce ideas to younger people yet to experience the joys of growing old!”
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre

“Just a brilliant production.  An agonising topic very well conveyed.”
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre

“Very good at challenging stereotypes, made you think – raised some good points on the care of the elderly.”
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre