Drama
Joe Orton's play 'Entertaining Mr Sloane' is a piece of theatre that is out to shock. Its controversial nature made it 'the' play to see and won it the London Critics 'Variety' Award for Best Play of 1964. Orton obviously relished challenging his audience's values and almost 40 years later 'Entertaining Mr Sloane' has not lost its ability to surprise.
The play is set in a scruffy old house on the edge of a rubbish dump. Kath, a single woman of 41, lives with her decrepit father, Kemp. Her younger brother, Ed, visits occasionally, although he has not been on good terms with his father since he caught Ed in his bedroom committing a 'felony.' Sloane, a young man of twenty, arrives in the house looking for lodgings. Kath is perversely attracted to Sloane, who reminds her of the son she lost, and welcomes him into her house, and before long, into her bed. Soon after, Ed arrives and employs Sloane as his chauffeur and also his lover. Incest and sexual perversion are deeply fixed at the centre of this play; brother and sister get a kick out of sharing the same sexual partner and Kath is excited by the idea that Sloane could be her own son. But at the same time Orton is not judgmental about the way in which Kath, Ed and Sloane choose to conduct their sex lives. A homosexual himself, Orton was at pains to prevent people being labelled as gay or straight. He felt that it was right to be as sexually indefinable as Ed and Sloane.
Director James Methven has made excellent use of Orton's captivating script. The dialogue is crisp and he is not afraid to dwell on pregnant pauses. The set is suitably seedy and movement is well orchestrated. The actors are of a universally high standard. James Copp in the title role catches Sloane's arrogance and aggression perfectly. Assured of the strength of his sexual attraction, he manipulates his power over the siblings. Copp is also in the slightly amusing situation of being seduced on stage by two real-life English tutors. Having played lovers in 'Cabaret' last term, thespian tutors Methven and Susan Hitch have teamed up again to play Ed and Kath. Methven captures Ed's terrible weakness for Sloane very effectively. Susan Hitch is suitably flirtatious as Kath, poignantly depicting her desperation for male company. Undergraduate Ilan Goodman, as Kemp, has the unenviable task of appearing old enough to be Methven and Hitch's father. The problem of playing age convincingly dogs student drama but with a leap of the imagination Goodman has a good crack at portraying Kemp's old age.
Good performances and tight direction make this production very strong. It is an unpretentious interpretation of a play that has the power to shock. The play also has a subtle humour to it that Methven's production highlights effectively. Controversial, disturbing and challenging, 'Entertaining Mr Sloane' will make you think as well as being a good performance.
25th Apr 2002