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me.
Cast | Notes | Pictures | Quotes
| My Summary | My Review
| Character | Actor |
| Sloane | Malcolm McDowell |
| Kath | Beryl Reid |
| Eddie | Ronald Fraser |
| Kemp | James Ottaway |
Written by Joe Orton
The play began at the Royal Court Theater until May 1975 when it moved.
The play then ran at the Duke Of York's Theatre, St. Martin's Lane, London WC2 from June until August in 1975 where it was directed by Lindsay Anderson.
Theater Program Cover from the Duke of York
'Joe Orton changed my whole outlook about acting. I played Alex in Clockwork Orange very much in an Orton way, without knowing it. He was an Orton character really, an appealing, funny monster - immoral, yet with a kind of morality. ' - Malcolm 1/87
Kathy is 41 years old and living with her father Kemp. One
night she has the 20 year old Sloane over the apartment to look at a room she is
renting. She tells him she was married once and had a son, but he was killed. He
decides he will take the room. She then decides to tell him the truth that she
was never really married and had her son taken away from her by her brother Ed.
He tells her he is an orphan and both his parents died when he was eight and he
visits their graves every fall. She begins to mother him and holds him close to
her, kisses him and admires his smooth skin.
Kemp her father enters and when Kath explains why Sloane is
there he isn't interested and tells him they have no room for him. She doesn't
care what he thinks and gives him some crumpets to toast in the fire. She leaves
them together as she goes to get some food. Sloane approaches him and says he
looks familiar and that he never forgets a face. Kemp assures him he doesn't
know him and there isn't anyway he could have seen him as he doesn't get out
much. Sloane continues to persist over and over, but every time Kemp shoots him
down. Kemp tells him about Kath's child, but Sloane has heard. He also admits he
hasn't spoken to his son in twenty years after catching him in the bedroom when
he was 17. He doesn't say what he did, but we can presume he was a homosexual.
Sloane admires the view from the window, but Kemp doesn't care for it. He tells
him only the first row of apartments was completed leaving a huge vacant area
where people come to dump their garbage. He would challenge them if his boss was
still alive who owned the apartments. Sloan asks what happened and Kemp tells
him he was murdered. Sloane continues pressing him with questions about the
murder and the only thing he knows about the killer was that he was a young man
with smooth skin. Now we know Sloan is the killer, but Kemp doesn't. Sloane
persists with his questions until he is satisfied the man remembers nothing and
if he does will keep it quiet.
After a few minutes Kemp has changed and now he thinks Sloane
looks familiar. Sloane assures him he is convinced now that there is no way they
can know each other. Kemp tells him he knows and he'll have someone take care of
him. Slone tells him to shut up and before he can do anything else Kemp stabs
him in the leg with a fork. He screams and is bleeding, he thinks his is dying.
Kathy hears the commotion and rushed in to help. When she hears what happened
she is ashamed of her father and thinks he is jealous of Sloane and sends him
out. She has him remove his pants and takes care of his leg. She doesn't think
the wound is bad.
The doorbell rings and she doesn't want to answer it because
she thinks it is a friend who will gossip if she sees what happened. She flirts
with him and he grabs her breast. She is upset and acts like she isn't
interested and says it would upset her brother if he found out. She helps Sloane
off to bed to get some rest instead.
She is upset with her father and send him off to Sloane's old
place to pick up his suitcase. Before he can leave there is a knock at the
window. It is Kathy's brother Eddie. He was the one ringing the doorbell. Kemp
leaves and Eddie comes in. He overheard her talking and is not happy she has a
man staying there, even if she is getting money from him.
Since I am pretty sure I'll never see
Malcolm's performance of the play, barring a video tape showing up, I bought the
book instead. It has the complete script for the exact play Malcolm did and
mentions his performance of it. While I can certainly see
Malcolm in the role and why it appealed to him, I just don't like the story. So
Sloane shows up at a house and the woman and her brother both fall for him for
no real reason. In the end he kills the father and they don't care? I guess that
is supposed to be funny, a black comedy. There are some funny lines, but overall
it just seems flat.
There are only four characters and the action takes place in
Kathy's living room. It is much like The Collection, another play Malcolm did
with four characters in one room and you aren't sure what is going on. While I
am sure I would like it much more being able to see Malcolm perform it in his bleach blond
hair, biker boots and leather hat, there is nothing in the plot for me. I think
it is too British for my tastes.
Rating 3/10
© 2001-8 Alex for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net