Knowra Joe Orton Joe Orton Joe Orton (1933–1967) was an English playwright and author whose black comedies, including Entertaining Mr Sloane , Loot , and What the Butler Saw , attacked social respectability.
Entertaining Mr Sloane : A 1964 play by Joe Orton in which a family’s desire for a young lodger turns into sexual rivalry and blackmail. Its sexual provocation and cheerful amorality established the pattern of Orton’s comedy.
Kenneth Halliwell : An English writer and artist who was Joe Orton’s partner and collaborator before Orton became a celebrated playwright. Halliwell shared Orton’s early years, literary experiments, and the tragic end of their partnership.
Michael Codron : A British theatre producer whose productions included major new plays by postwar writers. Codron produced Orton’s early stage successes and helped establish his career.
Royal Court Theatre : A London theatre known for producing new plays and supporting contemporary playwrights. Its productions of Orton’s work gave his provocative plays a prominent stage.
Loot : A 1965 play by Joe Orton that turns a bank robbery, a corpse, and police corruption into farce. Its irreverent treatment of death and institutions exemplifies Orton’s attack on respectability.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art : A London drama school founded in 1904 that trains actors and theatre professionals. Orton met Halliwell while both were students there.
Peter Gill : A Welsh theatre director, playwright, and actor who worked extensively in British theatre. Gill directed the first production of Loot at the Royal Court Theatre.
Prick Up Your Ears : John Lahr’s 1978 biography of Joe Orton, later adapted as a feature film. The biography shaped public knowledge of Orton’s life and Halliwell’s relationship with him.
What the Butler Saw : A 1969 farce by Joe Orton, first staged after his death, involving a psychiatric clinic, mistaken identities, and sexual disguise. The play pushes his escalating farce and attacks on authority to their most elaborate form.
Islington : A district of north London with a long history as a residential and cultural area. Orton’s north London background informed the ordinary settings his plays turned grotesque.
Show all 21