A two-day celebration in Leicester of Joe Orton's Loot will mark 50 years since the London premiere of his “comedy of horrors”.
The University of Leicester, which houses the Orton Archive, is holding three events to mark the anniversary of the Leicester writer's anarchic black comedy. Originally called Funeral Games, the play features some of theatre’s most unusual props: a coffin, a glass eye and a set of dentures.
Dr Emma Parker, organiser and reader in post-war and contemporary literature at the university, said, “Orton’s farce is funny and irreverent, although this doesn't always make him popular.
“As a working-class gay man, writing in a period when homosexuality was illegal, Orton was an outsider; his plays mock snobbery and attack the institutions that demonise same-sex desire: the family, the church, the law. He ridicules bourgeois values and conventions, social aspiration and sexual hypocrisy.”
The first of the three events takes place on Saturday 24 September in the David Wilson Library. Actor Kenneth Cranham will unveil a new interactive exhibit curated by Natasha Barrett and Ceciel Browuer of the School of Museum Studies. The centrepiece of the exhibit is a clay pot made by ceramicist Rachel Barnett, Orton's niece, to commemorate her uncle’s work.
In the evening, Kenneth Cranham will appear at Curve theatre to share memories of his relationship with Orton and his onstage appearances including his role as Andre in Florian Zeller’s The Father.
On Sunday 25 September, at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, a series of talks by Orton's friends, fans and family will offer new insights into Loot. Among the contributors will be Braham Murray, formerly artistic director at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, who will discuss working with Orton on revisions of Loot after it flopped in 1965.
The 1966 version of Loot went on to win an Evening Standard Award and confirmed Orton’s reputation as a major writer.
Dr Parker added, “the events aim to celebrate Orton's huge impact on theatre, gay politics and culture. He’s a significant influence on contemporary playwrights such as Martin McDonagh, Jez Butterworth and Joe Penhall. Orton’s achievement was huge; it deserves to be recognised and celebrated.”