Joe Orton, A Genius Like Us (Part 5 of 8)

"Arena" - A Genius Like Us: A Portrait of Joe Orton. Directed by Pamela Brighton and Nigel Williams.
... Originally broadcast on 9 November 1982, on BBC 2.
... Portrait of playwright Joe Orton, murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell at the peak of his career in 1967.
... Posted the whole documentary, by request. ;-)
... In 8 parts, unfortunately.

[@121Swaleskid]

thanks for uploading :)

[@calebcostigan2561]

I’m gonna tell your mom you’ve been watching weird stuff on RUclips

[@121Swaleskid]

Death metal is not weird! D:

[@mooneepondskid]

Good old Edna..lol.

[@BelatedCommiseration]

Woah...such a lot of invective you had to put up with! For what its worth I think your right. Halliwell was an emotionally damaged insecure man, which accounts for the difficult aspects of his nature. Your respondants here seem to ignore Williams when he says that they shared a sense of humour, played pranks and Halliwell had a good editing mind. The trouble is people like Peggy Ramsey and John Lahr tend to dismiss Halliwell because they prefer an Orton 'legend' ignoring the facts.

[@calebcostigan2561]

5:38 when trolling was truly and an art form

[@BelatedCommiseration]

I think Halliwell did feel inferior to Joe. I think the diaries bear out the fact he was over weaning and envious. But to dismiss him totally is to deny him his due. I know we are both preaching to the converted, but I think it boils down to the fact that people liked Joe. They didn't like Halliwell by and large. So they just assumed Orton, who was funny and vivacious, did it all on his own and kept Halliwell around out of pity. But Orton knew otherwise...and so did the perceptive like Williams

[@BelatedCommiseration]

True, I think the 'legend' is almost more important than the writing. But that should never be the case. Don't get me wrong, in a lot of ways Orton was the sixties answer to Oscar Wilde and explored similar themes in a very penetrating and funny way. The difference is that Wilde, whilst his characters can seem shallow, they speak of the paradox and hypocrisy of themselves as well as society and its mores, personal and sexual. They are not reduced to mere mouthpieces, unlike in Ortons work.

[@bonsaibingo]

I speak as someone who many years ago was a fan of Orton and played lead roles in two productions of his plays - The Erpingham Camp and What The Butler Saw. The honest truth is he was vastly over-rated. His plays are full of one-dimensional characters that simply reflect him, his lifestyle and ego. He achieved enduring fame because he was part of the 60s - the era that delighted in shocking people. It's really only his lifestyle and shocking death that has ensured his continued fame.

[@MrCuntyballs2U]

Quite interesting poofters

[@67psych]

Take it ur a scottish closet case then ??

[@MrCuntyballs2U]

@@67psych you should see my wardrobe

[@BelatedCommiseration]

I also know what you mean about the quality of Ortons writing and how it has become so overrated. Whilst Ortons plays are funny they are populated by grotesques. Even the super hunk Sloan is a grotesque in essence. I realise thats part of the 'Ortonesque' world view but it does mean we find very few relatable characters, and occasionally they dissolve into disjointed mouthpieces. This happens very noticably with the Dr Rance character in act 3 of What the Butler saw.

[@ai-man212]

I'd do the Magna Carta, myself. Overrated.