Fantastic farces.
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I thought I'd add a review of this collection of plays as I'm amazed to find that only two other people have done so. Perhaps the notoriety of Orton's life - and death - have overtaken the work itself. But the play's the thing.
I read these plays recently and thought they were terrific. Orton had an absolute understanding of the farce form and loved to take it as far as it would go. And then go further.
While these plays can't be called political in the sense of Dario Fo's "Accidental Death Of An Anarchist" they certainly have some bite to them, so they're nearer to the Fo than, say, Michael Frayn's "Noises Off"; though the best of these plays - "Loot", "What The Butler Saw" - certainly bear comparison to these wonderful farces.
I found this a really good read. I'm an actor and it made me long to see these plays performed and, more, to be in them myself.
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Once you have seen a Joe Orton Play you'll never go back
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A paragraph from the dust cover:
This Volume contains every play that Joe Orton-now a key figure in modern British drama-wrote before his violent death in 1967 at the age of 34. It includes four shorter plays ("The Ruffian on the Stair", "The Good and Faithful Servant", "The Erpingham Camp" and "Funeral Games") and the three plays for which Orton is chiefly known here: "Loot", "What the butler Saw" and "Entertaining Mr. Sloane." I bought the book for the play "What the Butler Saw" which style remedies me of "The Importance of Being Ernest" by Oscar Wilde. The other plays are an added plus. Read the book then see if you local theater is aware of the plays.
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Wonderfully Witty
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This is a great compilation of Orton's plays. The introduction is very accessable and gives a good grounding for anyone studying Orton. Joe Orton had a profoundly interesting life history and this introduction helps convey that life and character. The plays sell themselves - they are all intensely funny, intelligent, subtle and contain the wit of Oscar Wilde's finest. 'What the Butler Saw' and 'Entertaining Mr. Sloane' are my favourites and are typical of his style which is a cross between the 'Carry on' films and 'Noises Off.' Great fun.
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