Directed by Kevin Tomlinson, Beneath the Blue Rinse is a brilliant new comedy by Tom Glover which exposes how our society views and treats the elderly, exploding stereotypes and questioning our so-called ‘care system’. The play centres around the charismatic, passionate, 75 year old Flora (Colette Kelly), her gentle, yet determined 72 year old toyboy George (Chris Bearne), and an unscrupulous salesman, Simon Sudgebury (Kevin Tomlinson). Hidden agendas, lies and secrets slowly unravel during this hilarious comedy.

Colette Kelly is a much loved Irish comedic actress and singer. Among her extensive stage credits are Ballroom,The Sister Wendy Musical, Guys & Dolls, Happy Days, Beauty Queen of Lenane, Rockaby and Endgame.

Award winning Chris Bearne is a superb stage and film actor with numerous credits, most recently The Soldier with No Name, When Swallows Fly Low, and Major Barbara.

Kevin Tomlinson is a highly experienced comic actor, who has performed at many of the UK’s leading repertory theatres (York Theatre Royal, Bath Theatre Royal, Scarborough Stephen Joseph) and alongside the cast of ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ at the Hackney Empire. His improvised comedy shows have toured to 14 countries on 4 continents.

Beneath the Blue Rinse is produced by Oxford based Living the Drama, in partnership with Kepow! Theatre. Living the Drama, is one of the few professional theatre companies in the UK, to produce and write plays which celebrate older people, tackling issues arising from our rapidly ageing society. KEPOW! Theatre is well known for its hilarious comedy (Seven Ages, On the Edge and Crazy Little Thing Called Love!) receiving 5 star reviews at the Edinburgh Festival, before going on to tour all over the UK and abroad.

Carolyn Lloyd-Davies, Artistic Director of Living the Drama said: "Although Beneath the Blue Rinse is a comedy, it reflects some shocking statistics. Recent research* showed that by 2020 the number of older people suffering abuse, in their own homes from a relative, friend or carer is estimated to increase from 372,000 to almost 460,000. In addition, AgeUK noted that 60% of older people in the UK agree that once you reach old age, people tend to treat you as a child or ignore you. Our play skillfully uses humour to shine a light on this very serious issue.”