Loot (Modern Classics)

Product Information

The stand-out performances include Sinead Matthews as seven-times married nurse Fay, Christopher Fulford as the menacing inspector Truscott and Anah Ruddin who gamely spends the entire show playing a corpse. Bigsby, C. W. E., 1982. Joe Orton. Contemporary Writers series. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-416-31690-5 Kenneth Cranham and Leonie Orton Barnett unveiled an interactive exhibit celebrating the work of Joe Orton specially commissioned by the University Library. The exhibit featured a commemorative pot created by ceramicist Rachel Barnett, Orton’s niece, to mark the 50th anniversary of his earlier work, Entertaining Mr Sloane. It showcased material from the Joe Orton Archive held by the University Library’s Archives and Special Collections, and was curated by Natasha Barrett and Ceciel Brouwer from the School of Museum Studies. To mark the 50th anniversary of the London premiere of the Leicester-born playwright's ground-breaking play Loot, there was a small display of material from the Orton Archiveat the University of Leicester. Joe Orton's Loot: A 50th Anniversary Celebration Sunday 25 September 2016 New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester

This decision sets off a round of increasingly strange consequences. Hal's dad and the visiting nurse (Fay), who herself is a gold-digger, are distraught by the events, but Hal and Dennis are focused on not getting caught. Their callous use of the coffin leads to a lot of comic mishaps involving mistreatment of the corpse. I Had It in Me, Leonie Orton (Barnett), 2016, Leicester: Quirky Press, pp. 173, 186, see Chapter 14, 'The Latter Part' about the mystery of Joe's London diaryLoot starts at Park Theatre, London before its run at The Watermill and is directed by Michael Fentiman, whose credits include acclaimed productions of Titus Andronicus and The Taming of The Shrew for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Orton completed a first draft in October 1964, which premiered in Cambridge on 1 February 1965. The production starred Geraldine McEwan, Kenneth Williams, Duncan Macrae and Ian McShane and was directed by Peter Wood. Hal and Dennis’s hints at homosexuality immediately fell victim to the censor’s blue pencil because it was still illegal at the time.

Loot was Orton's third major production, following Entertaining Mr Sloane and the television play The Good and Faithful Servant. Playing with the conventions of popular farce, Orton creates a hectic world and examines English attitudes and perceptions in the mid-twentieth century. The play won several awards in its London run and has had many revivals. Described as a "tour de force of bad taste and high farce", 'Loot' is considered as irreverent, amoral and bizarre. Orton thought even more highly of it: "I have a lot of vices but false modesty is not one of them. And the best thing about Loot is the quality of the writing." Tampering with the conventions of popular farce, Orton creates a hectic world and examines English attitudes and perceptions in the mid twentieth century. Charney, Maurice. 1984. Joe Orton. Grove Press Modern Dramatists series. NY: Grove Press. ISBN 0-394-54241-XLootis an example of a playwright working at his best. It's a farcical romp, still absolutely relevant today...This robust, riotous outing is much-welcome"★★★★WhatsOnStage Now I have never particularly liked LOOT as a play or as a film, preferring Entertaining Mr Sloane, Berly Reid's performance being worth the price of admission alone, but to compare it to W.A.B.'s is like comparing Hamlet to GHOST because of the presence of a spook in them. But it is easily a far superior film, yes it is a little creaky and the farce is shoe horned in but then that was Orton's style. Rude, blasphemous, corrosive, as fresh today as when it was written LOOT is not for the easily offended but it's their loss"★★★★★ Daily Express Orton became interested in performing in theatre around 1949 and joined a number of dramatic societies, including the Leicester Dramatic Society. While working on amateur productions he was determined to improve his appearance and physique, buying bodybuilding courses, taking elocution lessons. He was accepted for a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in November 1950, and he left the East Midlands for London. His entrance into RADA was delayed until May 1951 by appendicitis. The farce will finally be performed in full at the Park theatre in Finsbury Park, north London, next week after the playwright’s sister Leonie, who administers his literary estate, agreed the original script could be used.