TALKING ORTON

It’s shocking to realise that had he lived Joe Orton would be 90 years old. Tragically he was dead by the age of 34, bludgeoned to death with a hammer by his lover Kenneth Halliwell. They met at RADA, Halliwell, seven years older, took Joe under his wing and became lover and mentor to the less worldly and less well educated Orton. But before long Orton became the lead figure in their relationship and eclipsed Halliwell in almost every sense.

Orton penned plays that shocked and delighted. They were at the very heart of British Theatre in the 1960s and his fame or notoriety placed him on the same platform as the pop stars of the era and he counted amongst his friends and supporters Terrance Rattingan and Harold Pinter.

Much of his short lived career can be studied in John Lahr’s excellent biography Prick Up Your Ears, later filmed with a script written by Alan Bennet and starring Gary Oldman as Orton, Alfred Molina as Halliwell and directed by Stephen Frears.

To get a fuller view of his extraordinary life one needs to read his own diaries and to fully colour the story one can do worse than to read the diaries of Kenneth Williams, friend and confidant, a relationship that he regretted on the publication of the Orton Diaries.

The books, the film and seeing the plays… all wonderful in their own right but what an extraordinary treat to spend an evening listening to a group of men who had the privilege of knowing and working with Orton. Talking Orton was such an exciting proposition that one of Brighton’s newer and most exciting venues was sold out. Hosting the evening was actor and director Mark Burgess, clearly a fan of Orton’s work, and on stage with him actors Kenneth Cranham, Richard O’Callaghan and Tyler Butterworth and playwright Derek Howard who read from his play Beyond Our Ken which tells the story through the voice of lover and murderer Halliwell in those moments after he had delivered the hammer blows to Orton’s skull and before committing suicide.

Between them, with first hand anecdotes and insights, the tragedy of his short lived career was brought to life. Unanimously they declared that Orton was charming, playful and a great friend. Equally they felt that Halliwell was damaged, dark and riddled with an envy that led to that final act of murder and suicide.

This was an event filled with raw feelings, emotion and of course humour. There were tales that some know from the books and others that came fresh and delightfully so. Orton was way ahead of the game, flaunting the restrictions of the Lord Chamberlain by weaving his clever and rapid fire words into a tangled web that the censor clearly found impenetrable. His death was a press sensation at the time, his life of promiscuity, tangles with authority and the law, a time spent in prison, an experience that no doubt fuelled his writing, and his moments in the limelight only make that early demise more tragic, what more would he have done had he lived?

The evening was illustrated with audio and film footage, all wonderful to see but perhaps the most revealing was an interview panel hosted by Eamonn Andrews with guests Eva Gabor, Bernard Braden and Barbara Kelly and the subject was marriage. Yes marriage, and Orton lies claiming that he married at 20. It’s a bizarre spectacle as Orton never married, but also bizarre in that the normally white T shirt and biker jacket clad Orton was booted and suited. Even more bizarre was his performance which for all the world looked like and impression of his friend Kenneth Williams, clipped tones, sneering, turning his head coquettishly… could this be Orton simply playing with Andrews and his guests. I think the answer is quite obvious.

What an amazing evening, a great idea brought perfectly to life. One has to hope that this is the start of a series of similar events where the lives and careers of amazing creative forces are explored by the people who knew and worked with them. More please!

Andrew Kay

The Lantern Theatre

10 August

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