Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Synopsis

Selected plays by the great playwright Joe Orton, plus bonus material Joe Orton was among the towering geniuses of 1960s theatre. His life was tragically cut short in 1967, but he left behind him a handful of shocking and scabrous black comedies that will live on in the public imagination for years to come. Orton’s career was kickstarted by the BBC. John Tydeman who is widely considered to have found him when working at the BBC as an trainee. He came across an early version of The Ruffian on the Stair called The Boy Hairdresser and persuaded his seniors to let him meet him and discuss the play, there began a friendship that shaped Orton’s life. Tydeman recommended a top literary agent and the rest is history.Featured here are two of his lesser-known works, The Erpingham Camp and The Ruffian on the Stair, collected together as a double bill. The former, loosely based on Euripides’ tragedy The Bacchae, is an anarchic, subversive farce set in a holiday camp, where a group of campers decide to revolt against the dictatorial owner. It stars an ensemble cast, including Robert Daws and Jonjo O’Neill. In the latter, Orton’s breakthrough hit, an ex-boxer (Gerard Horan) and an ex-prostitute (Sophie Thompson) have their lives disrupted by a stranger (Jack Rowan). Recorded live at the BBC’s radio theatre in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton's death, the plays are accompanied by an interview with Orton's friend, Kenneth Cranham, who discusses the Joe Orton he knew.Also featured are the darkly comic Funeral Games, starring Phil Daniels, Martin Jarvis, Tony Rohr and Liza Sadovy, which takes a sideswipe at religious hypocrisy and is considered the linking work between his two key plays, Loot and What the Butler Saw. Plus, John Sessions reads extracts from Joe Orton’s posthumously published journals in The Orton Diaries; Ned Sherrin hears from Kenneth Williams about his experiences directing Loot in Kenneth Williams on Joe Orton, and Samira Akhmed talks to guests including Orton’s sister Leonie and Sheila Hancock about the playwright’s life and legacy in Front Row: Joe Orton.Production creditsText copyright © Joe Orton 1964 (The Ruffian on the Stair), 1966 (The Erpingham Camp), 1968 (Funeral Games), 1986 (The Orton Diaries)All rights reservedThe Erpingham CampErpingham – Robert DawsRiley – Jonjo O'NeillLou – Kerry GoodersonTed – Samuel JamesKenny – Charlie ClementsEileen – Sarah RidgewayW.E. Harrison – Tom ForristerJessie Mason – Sanchia McCormackPadre – Simon LuddersAccordion Player – Colin GuthrieThe Ruffian on the StairMike – Gerard HoranJoyce – Sophie ThompsonWilson – Jack RowanProduced by Mary PeateKenneth Cranham interview by Matthew SweetFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 July 2017Funeral GamesCaulfield – Phil DanielsPringle – Martin JarvisMcCorquodale – Tony RohrTessa – Liza SadovyPoliceman – Ben CroweProduced and directed by Peter KavanaghFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11 July 2008Joe Orton: The Orton DiariesDiary selections read by John SessionsProduced by Ned ChailletFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 March 1994Kenneth Williams on Joe OrtonWith Kenneth Williams and Ned SherrinProduced by Ian GardhouseFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, September 1980Front Row: Joe OrtonPresented by Samira AhmedProduced by Ekene AkalawuWith Leonie Orton, Emma Parker, Sally Norman, Jenna Forbes, John Lahr, Sheila Hancock, Nikolai FosterFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11 August 2017© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd