Ruskino, Susan, 1995. Joe Orton. Twayne's English Authors series. Boston: Twayne. ISBN 0-8057-7034-8. Taylor, Paul; "Loot, Park Theatre, London, review: Michael Fentiman's stylish and entertaining revival", The Independent, 28 August 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2018 Ortonesque – Definition of Ortonesque in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries – English. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. The play had its first Broadway production in New York at the Biltmore Theatre. [4] It opened on 18 March 1968. [4] Kenneth Cranham played Hal (as he had in the 1966 London production), James Hunter played Dennis, Liam Redmond played McLeavy, Carole Shelley played Fay, George Rose played Truscott, and Norman Barrs played Meadows. [4] It was directed by Derek Goldby and designed by William Ritmann. [4] The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway. The characters in this play are uncomplicated, but each reveals sides of themselves meant to show them as hypocrites (except for the "real" criminals: Hal and Dennis). Meadows, a minor character, is meant mainly to help show the corruption and basic ineptitude of the police force, but Truscott does most of the heavy lifting in that regard.

Hal’s mother, Mrs McLeavy, has just died and the money is hidden in her coffin while her body is moved around the house. 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 After graduating, both Orton and Halliwell went into regional repertory work: Orton spent four months in Ipswich as an assistant stage manager; Halliwell in Llandudno, Wales. Both returned to London and began to write together. They collaborated on a number of unpublished novels (often imitating Ronald Firbank) with no success at gaining publication. The rejection of their great hope, The Last Days of Sodom, in 1957 led them to solo works. [9] Orton wrote his last novel, The Vision of Gombold Proval (posthumously published as Head to Toe), in 1959. He later drew on these manuscripts for ideas; many show glimpses of his stage-play style. Brennen, Clare; "Loot review – the farce is strong with this one", The Guardian, 3 September 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2018

Calvin Demba

In March 1967, Orton and Halliwell had intended another extended holiday in Libya, but they returned home after one day because the only hotel accommodation they could find was a boat that had been converted into a hotel/nightclub. Loot spirals inventively into the higher reaches of preposterousness, false reasoning and sheer lunacy. A delectable amusement.’Evening Standard

In 1970, The Sunday Times reported that four days before the murder, Orton had told a friend that he wanted to end his relationship with Halliwell, but did not know how to go about it. An hilarious production featuring a brilliant cast, it's a comedy that doesn’t disappoint"★★★★The Upcoming 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 is a two-act play by British writer and playwright Joe Orton. The play features a surreal narrative style that is meant to criticize the middle-class British society of the time (mid-20th century). The thesis of the play is the hypocrisy of society and their institutions and how the masses are duped by these institutions that they blindly follow. Orton and his lover were arrested for defacing books at a library. They modified selected contents of books to depict erotic acts—mostly from a homosexual perspective. This fiftieth anniversary production is directed by Michael Fentiman, whose credits include two acclaimed shows for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as the recent Park Theatre critically-acclaimed hit, Raising Martha. Please be aware this production contains full frontal nudity. Parental discretion advised. In this role, everything is done to you. Mrs McLeavy is variously dragged out of her coffin, undressed, wrapped in a sheet, left under a bed, thrown over shoulders and stuffed inside a cupboard. I thought that at that point, out of view of the audience, I’d be able to go off and have a cup of tea while they get on with the play. But, no, I stay in the cupboard – although not upside down, I do manage to right myself. The play begins when two thieves, Hal and Dennis, decide to rob a bank. They choose one next to the funeral home where Dennis works. They succeed, then need a place to story the "loot" and go to Hal's place, where he lives with both parents. Hal's mother is recently deceased, and her body is still in the home. Knowing the police (Inspector Truscott) aren't far behind, in desperation they hid the stolen cash in the coffin. Two archive recordings of Orton are known to survive: a short BBC radio interview first transmitted in August 1967 and a video recording, held by the British Film Institute, of his appearance on Eamonn Andrews' ITV chat show transmitted 23 April 1967. [50] Legacy [ edit ]

Dent, Alan, 2018. Entertaining Hypocrites: The Playwriting of Joe Orton, Penniless Press Publications. ISBN 978-0-244-09226-9 Banham, Martin (ed.), 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43437-8 At the suggestion of Halliwell's family, Peggy Ramsay asked Orton's brother Douglas if Orton and Halliwell's ashes could be mixed. Douglas agreed, "As long as nobody hears about it in Leicester." [39] The mixed ashes were scattered [40] in section 3-C of the Garden of Remembrance at Golders Green. There is no memorial. [41] Biography and film, radio, TV [ edit ] As the corpse, you need to remain completely still while the energy of the farce swirls around you. I’m not so much worried about having an itch or a coughing fit – although thankfully no one’s had a cold yet – but I do fear that I might react instinctively to something. The other day a handbag was thrown on the stage, hitting my leg. If it had been my head I might have reacted involuntarily and spoiled the scene. Strangest of all was the insistence that the body of Mrs McLeavy must not be played by an actor. Instead, a mannequin had to be wrapped up and hidden behind a screen even though part of the humour of the play relied on the body being visible on stage.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. Urwin, Rosamund. "Statue of Joe Orton axed over Leicester playwright's relationships with teenage boys". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 29 August 2022. Likewise, characters like Fay give long speeches about what is right, while acting only out of self-interest. As the play unfolds, the "moral" characters (everyone but Dennis and Hal) each reveal that their high words don't add up to ethical actions. When Fay discovers the money, about midway through the play, she immediately demands some of it or threatens to turn Hal in to the inspector. Orton was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium, his maroon cloth-draped coffin being brought into the west chapel to a recording of The Beatles song " A Day in the Life". [37] Harold Pinter read the eulogy, concluding with "He was a bloody marvellous writer." Orton's agent Peggy Ramsay described Orton's relatives as "the little people in Leicester", [38] leaving a cold, nondescript note and bouquet at the funeral on their behalf. Definitive weapons-grade offensive Orton. Would Joe be proud with this production? Undoubtedly" ★★★★ QX Magazine

Having seen the Havant Bench Theatre's production of Loot, I am left wondering if your critic (The News, Friday July 6) really did see the same play. If Saturday's performance is an example of the group's activities, then the criticisms were unjustified. The play was very well performed with a good set when one considered the small stage area. I am a staunch believer in supporting out local amateur drama group which puts on very good plays throughout the year and unworthy criticism in this case was uncalled for. Surely we should be encouraging groups such as Bench Theatre, not disillusioning them or their supporters who get a very good evening's entertainment at very little cost. Joe Orton was born on 1 January 1933 at Causeway Lane Maternity Hospital, Leicester, to William Arthur Orton and Elsie Mary Orton (née Bentley). William worked for Leicester County Borough Council as a gardener and Elsie worked in the local footwear industry until tuberculosis cost her a lung. At the time of Joe's birth, William and Mary were living with William's family at 261 Avenue Road Extension in Clarendon Park, Leicester. Joe's younger brother, Douglas, was born in 1935. That year, the Ortons moved to 9 Fayrhurst Road on the Saffron Lane Estate, a council estate. Orton's younger sisters, Marilyn and Leonie, were born in 1939 and 1944, respectively. [7] Joe Orton was played by the actor Kenny Doughty in the 2006 BBC film Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!, starring Michael Sheen as Kenneth Williams. [47]Debauched capers in which eyeballs, false teeth and all human dignity go flying - it's breathlessly funny" ★★★★ The Stage 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. According to Michael Billington, The Guardian, it’s ‘now even funnier and filthier’ and the restoration of the cuts required by the censor ‘ not only sharpens an already subversive text but yields a first-rate production by Michael Fentiman’. Loot is a two-act play by the English playwright Joe Orton. The play is a dark farce that satirises the Roman Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and the integrity of the police force. [1] 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.