Synopsis
Published fifty years after the premiere of Entertaining Mr Sloane in 1964, this anniversary edition offers an opportunity to reappraise Orton's reputation as a playwright and the status of his play from the viewpoint of a twenty-first century theatre-goer. ..When it first appeared, in the midst of the ongoing sexual revolution, Entertaining Mr Sloane both scandalised and delighted critics and theatregoers. Its mix of farce, voracious sexuality and violence was explosive, with an overwhelming sense of comedic amorality. Within a year of its premiere, Entertaining Mr Sloane was being performed around the world, and it went on to be adapted for film and television. The play established Orton's reputation as an important playwright and has since enjoyed a number of significant revivals in New York and London, demonstrating that it remains as startling and subversive as ever. It is now widely recognised as one of the most ground-breaking plays of the twentieth century...The new critical introduction by Emma Parker reconsiders the significance of the play in the context of gay writing and theatrical trends in the 1950s and '60s, looks at the critical and public reception at the time, and asserts the play's relevance to current debates about contemporary queer issues, as well as its impact on playwriting since...This edition also contains an interview with director Nick Bagnall, in addition to images from the Orton Archive., Published fifty years after the premiere of Entertaining Mr Sloane in 1964, and with a new introduction, this anniversary edition offers an opportunity to reappraise Joe Orton's reputation, and the status of his first major play, from a twenty-first century perspective. When it first appeared in the Swinging Sixties, Orton's satire on social and sexual hypocrisy both scandalized and delighted audiences. Its mix of sexuality and violence was explosive. Within a year, the play was being performed around the world and went on to be adapted for film and television, establishing Orton as a major voice and this play as one of the most ground-breaking of the century. This anniversary edition features previously unpublished material from the Joe Orton Archive, an interview with director Nick Bagnall, and an introduction by Emma Parker, Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Leicester., An anniversary edition of Entertaining Mr Sloane, with a new critical introduction, which offers an opportunity to reappraise both Orton's reputation as a playwright and the status of his play, plus a selection of previously unpublished photographs from the Orton archive.
