 | A WRITER'S WIT |  M. Proust |
MY BOOK WORLD
Orton, Joe. The Complete Plays. With an introduction by John Lahr. New York: Grove, 1990 (1976).
Unless you see these plays produced (two are captured on film, both released in 1970, Loot and Entertaining Mr. Sloane), Orton’s whip smart words of satire can fall flat on the page. That which would make a crowd laugh or roar in the theater, earns a grin or grunt from the reader. I appreciated these plays most when I read them aloud in my faux Brit accent (alone I might add). That said, these seven gems are all we have left of the inimitable, ahead-of-his-time Joe Orton. Not quite true: His diaries are like those of David Sedaris, to-die-for. A fascinating read in their own right.
For those not in the know, Orton was struck down in the prime of his life (at thirty-four) by his longtime companion, who bludgeoned Orton to death with a hammer. The lover then politely (but as a coward) killed himself. I mention it because the two had an odd symbiotic relationship. The lover was the real writer, the professional, who wasn’t doing all that well. But he was a proficient editor and critic, so Orton rather fed off his lover’s professionalism and attention. One will never know how much of Orton’s work bore the patina of his lover’s kind but jealous attention.
My favorites on the page might be Loot and What the Butler Saw. In the latter, a corrupt psychiatrist hires a woman to be his secretary but is more interested in her body. The shrink’s wife, supplied with her own problems, would like to make extra money to pay off the young man she’s had an affair with, as he has photographed them in sexual positions and is attempting to blackmail her. Orton satirizes British morals and the field of psychiatry with a broad stroke of farce. All of the characters somehow manage to exchange clothing throughout the melee, crossdressing, as it were, before the world perhaps knew it as such. Oo lah lah. A hilarious climax (not being punny) ensues when the health inspector shows up and determines that all the principals are insane. Would love to see this play produced or put on film. Orton had a gift, and it is our loss that he was not allowed to develop his talent to its fullest.
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Owen Wister
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Lydia Davis
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Caroline Blackwood
FRI: A Writer's Wit | Erle Stanley Gardner
My Book World | TBD
Unless you see these plays produced (two are captured on film, both released in 1970, Loot and Entertaining Mr. Sloane), Orton’s whip smart words of satire can fall flat on the page. That which would make a crowd laugh or roar in the theater, earns a grin or grunt from the reader. I appreciated these plays most when I read them aloud in my faux Brit accent (alone I might add). That said, these seven gems are all we have left of the inimitable, ahead-of-his-time Joe Orton. Not quite true: His diaries are like those of David Sedaris, to-die-for. A fascinating read in their own right.
For those not in the know, Orton was struck down in the prime of his life (at thirty-four) by his longtime companion, who bludgeoned Orton to death with a hammer. The lover then politely (but as a coward) killed himself. I mention it because the two had an odd symbiotic relationship. The lover was the real writer, the professional, who wasn’t doing all that well. But he was a proficient editor and critic, so Orton rather fed off his lover’s professionalism and attention. One will never know how much of Orton’s work bore the patina of his lover’s kind but jealous attention.
My favorites on the page might be Loot and What the Butler Saw. In the latter, a corrupt psychiatrist hires a woman to be his secretary but is more interested in her body. The shrink’s wife, supplied with her own problems, would like to make extra money to pay off the young man she’s had an affair with, as he has photographed them in sexual positions and is attempting to blackmail her. Orton satirizes British morals and the field of psychiatry with a broad stroke of farce. All of the characters somehow manage to exchange clothing throughout the melee, crossdressing, as it were, before the world perhaps knew it as such. Oo lah lah. A hilarious climax (not being punny) ensues when the health inspector shows up and determines that all the principals are insane. Would love to see this play produced or put on film. Orton had a gift, and it is our loss that he was not allowed to develop his talent to its fullest.
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Owen Wister
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Lydia Davis
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Caroline Blackwood
FRI: A Writer's Wit | Erle Stanley Gardner
My Book World | TBD
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