The tiny Actors’ Centre is reborn under its new name, and since this play is set in what was a traditionally febrile, theatrical, subversively arty quarter in the 50s and 60s before it got chichi, it’s a good place to remember Joe Orton and his killing.
‘George Kemp is excellent as Joe Orton’: DIARY OF A SOMEBODY – Seven Dials Playhouse
Diary Of A Somebody is credited to John Lahr, though technically he might be said to be the arranger/editor. For the actual words are those of Joe Orton as recorded in a journal that he decided to keep in 1966/7.
‘Sheds light on the dark corners of human behaviour’: THE RUFFIAN ON THE STAIR – Hope Theatre ★★★★
During the sixties, Orton’s plays such as Loot and Entertaining Mr Sloane showed an hitherto unseen side of British society on the stage and challenged the double standards of the ‘moral guardians’. In his first solo play, The Ruffian On The Stair (which is directed by Paul Clayton) we meet a ‘couple’ who live in a flat in Islington (not unlike Orton’s own abode).
‘Every aspect is superbly well done’: THE RUFFIAN ON THE STAIR – Hope Theatre ★★★★★
The Ruffian On The Stair is a terrific introduction to Joe Orton with a superbly well done production of a lesser known play – the cast of three are absolutely spot on.
NEWS: Alistair McGowan leads Under Milk Wood to mark Watermill’s 50th anniversary
Alistair McGowan stars in a new production of Dylan Thoma’s Under Milk Wood, which forms part of the Watermill Theatre, Newbury’s 50th-anniversary programme.
Text of the Day: Loot
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
LOOT – Park Theatre ★★★★
A sparkling new production of Loot – the classic farce, fifty years on. The talented and well-drilled cast tear into this absurdist comedy with a reckless pace and energy.
LOOT – Park Theatre ★★★★
Filth, farce and absurdism are individually difficult to pull off so combining all three in a ripely uncensored 50th-anniversary version of Joe Orton’s Loot is high risk, but when it works it’s excellent.
LOOT – Park Theatre (not-really-a-review)
I’m not much of a fan of farce (my fault I fear…) and only really booked for two reasons. 1 – it’s on the list. And 2 – Sinéad Matthews, future queen of all our hearts.
LOOT – Park Theatre ★★★★
The corpse is the talking point and to some extent the star. Certainly, Anah Ruddin, hopping out of the coffin spry as a fox for the curtain call.
LOOT – Park Theatre
Anniversary revival of Joe Orton’s black farce about money and death is a delight from start to finish.
LOOT – Park Theatre
To honour the 50th anniversary of his death, this is the first time we get to see Joe Orton’s original version of the Loot script before the Lord Chamberlain censored it prior to the 1966 production.
LOOT – Park Theatre
What the production does do extremely well is highlight the comic values of the script, with many lines being delivered with perfect comic timing by a very capable cast.
NEWS: Rising British stars leading the cast of Loot
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Joe Orton’s darkly comic masterpiece Loot, the Park Theatre’s forthcoming production of the play has announced initial casting news, with Calvin Demba, Sam Frenchum and Sinéad Matthews joining the company.
NEWS: Ians McKellen & McDiarmid headline Park Theatre winter season
Ian McKellen and Ian McDiarmid headline Park Theatre’s new winter 2017 season, which also features a never-before-seen play by Kevin Elyot and revivals of Daisy Pulls It Off and Joe Orton’s Loot.
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW Emporium, Brighton
GUEST REVIEWER CHRIS PALING SEES AN ORTON OEUVRE IN ITS TRUE HOME.. Joe Orton would have liked The Emporium. This deconsecrated Methodist church has been a theatre and café for a couple of years now. It was at the vanguard … Continue reading →