Joe Orton

Joe Orton (January 1, 1933, Leicester, England - August 9, 1967, Islington, London) was a satirical modern playwright. In a short but brilliant career from 1964 until his death he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies. Ortonesque became a recognized term for "outrageously macabre".

Meeting with Kenneth Halliwell

Orton met Kenneth Halliwell at RADA in 1951, moving into a West Hampstead flat with him and two other students in June. Halliwell was short, balding, insecure, shy, cultured, seven years older than Orton and of independent means - having a substantial inheritance. They quickly formed a strong relationship and became lovers, despite Orton's allegations of sexual incompatibility. Neither did well in their two years at the academy, although Halliwell did rather worse - earning a Certificate of Merit against Orton's Diploma.

Related Topics:
Kenneth Halliwell - West Hampstead

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After graduating both went into regional repertory work, Orton spent four months in Ipswich as an assistant stage manager, Halliwell in Llandudno. Both returned to London, "their dreams shifted from the stage to the page." They collaborated on a number of unpublished novels (often imitating Ronald Firbank), and had little success but some encouragement. The rejection of their great hope, The Last Days of Sodom, in 1957 led them to solo works. Orton would later return to the books for ideas and many show glimpses of his stage play style.

Related Topics:
Ipswich - Llandudno - Novels - Ronald Firbank - 1957

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They refused to work confident of their 'specialness', lived on Halliwell's money and the dole, and were forced to follow a quite ascetic life in order to restrict their outgoings to £5 a week. From 1957-59 they worked in six month stretches at Cadbury's to raise money for a new flat. They moved into a small and austere flat in Noel Road, Islington in 1959.

Related Topics:
Dole - 59 - Cadbury's - Islington

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Pranks and hoaxes

A lack of serious work led them to amuse themselves with pranks and hoaxes. Orton created Edna Welthorpe, an elderly 'outraged of-' who he would later revive to stir the controversy over his plays. In another episode, Orton and Halliwell stole books from the local library, and would subtly modify the cover art or the blurbs before returning them to the library. A volume of poems by John Betjeman, for example, was returned to the library with a new dustjacket featuring a photograph of a nearly naked, heavily tattooed middle-aged man. They were eventually discovered, and prosecuted for this in May, 1962. The incident was reported in the national newspaper the Daily Mirror as "Gorilla in the Roses". They were charged with five counts of theft and malicious damage, admitted damaging more than seventy books and were jailed for six months (released September 1962) and fined £262.

Related Topics:
Cover art - Blurbs - Poems - John Betjeman - Dustjacket - 1962 - Daily Mirror - Theft - Malicious damage

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Ironically the books that Orton and Halliwell vandalised have become the most valued of the Islington Library service collection.

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