Loot
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Book Overview
A black farce masterpiece, Loot follows the fortunes of two
young thieves, Hal and Dennis. Dennis is a hearse driver for an
undertaker. They have robbed the bank next door to the funeral parlour
and have returned to Hal's home to hide-out with the loot. Hal's mother
has just died and the pair put the money in her coffin, hiding the body
elsewhere in the house. With the arrival of Inspector Truscott, the
thickened plot turns topsy-turvy. Playing with all the conventions of
popular farce, Orton creates a world gone mad and examines in detail
English attitudes at mid-century. The play has been called a Freudian
nightmare, which sports with superstitions about death - and life. It
is regularly produced in professional and amateur productions. First produced in London in 1966, Loot was hailed as "the
most genuinely quick-witted, pungent and sprightly entertainment by a
new, young British playwright for a decade" (Sunday Telegraph).
The Student Edition offers a plot summary, full commentary, character
notes and questions for study, besides a chronology and bibliography.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0413567605
ISBN13:9780413567604
Release Date:July 2006
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Length:144 Pages
Weight:0.32 lbs.
Dimensions:0.3" x 5.6" x 7.8"
Related Subjects
American Literature British & Irish Drama Education & Reference English Literature LiteratureCustomer Reviews
1 rating
A very dark British comedy.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
This play seems to be the logical evolution of the play Arsenic and Old Lace. Written in the sixties for the British stage, it was panned in its first production. However a year and a half later, as its author was about to give up hope, a new production opened and met with great success. Loot is fairly brief at only two acts, yet is brimming with its delicious brand of sin. The scenario begins with an atmosphere of apparent darkness but quickly reveals its hilarious undertones. By the end of the play the reader/audience has unconsciously become a part of the morally bereft world which Orton creates. Its no matter though because you are crying with laughter.
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