Entertaining Mr Sloane
Joe Orton
Entertaining Mr Sloane
It may be Swinging 60s London but out in the suburbs, behind closed doors, Kath is lonely. Craving love and affection, Kath and her bachelor brother take a lodger. Soon, both become infatuated with the shady young tenant with a murky past – Mr Sloane.
3.5 out of 5 based on 4 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Location |
London |
| Venue |
Trafalgar Studios 1 Theatre(formerly Whitehall Theatre) |
| Director |
Nick Bagnall |
| Cast |
Mathew Horne, Simon Paisley Day Imelda Staunton |
| From |
January 2009 |
| Until |
April 2009 |
| Box Office |
0870 060 6632 |
| |
It may be Swinging 60s London but out in the suburbs, behind closed doors, Kath is lonely. Craving love and affection, Kath and her bachelor brother take a lodger. Soon, both become infatuated with the shady young tenant with a murky past – Mr Sloane.
Reviews
The Guardian
Michael Billington
“Mathew Horne, of Gavin and Stacey fame, is the star draw in this latest revival of Joe Orton's debut play. But although Horne, in the spirit of Orton's dialogue, keeps his end up, the big surprise is Nick Bagnall's production: I've never before seen a version of this play that pushed its comedy and violence to such limits, or that spelt out so clearly its affinity with the work of Harold Pinter.”
02/02/2009
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The Daily Telegraph
Charles Spencer
“There's plenty of violence to go with the sex, and some fascinating shifts in the balance of power between the characters. I've seen previous productions that seemed stale and laboured, but director Nick Bagnall delivers a show that combines pace with revealing comic detail, and there isn't a single weak performance. ”
02/02/2009
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The Evening Standard
Nicholas de Jongh
“Forty-five years after its London premiere, Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr Sloane comes up almost as fresh as a four‑leaf clover. If there has been a funnier British comedy since Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, I cannot recall it. Even director Nick Bagnall’s spectacular miscasting of Matthew Horne, who replaces Mr Sloane, the bisexual, opportunistic, muscle-boy of the playwright’s imagining, with a campish, dyed-hair, 30-year-old of no distinct personality, does not that greatly diminish the savage fun or originality of Orton’s historic black comedy.”
02/02/2009
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The Independent
Michael Coveney
“The new young director Nick Bagnall – working with Orton enthusiast Kathy Burke as "artistic associate" – allows the pace and atmosphere to flag a little in the third act, the price of not taking a second interval. And his good work is nearly scuppered by Horne's lack of experience. Instead of glowing with satanic sexuality, Horne's Sloane mooches around as if waiting for a bag of sweets and a goodnight kiss.”
03/02/2009
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