Word: orton
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...theater works on a rotational repertory basis, with each show running for six weeks. Most of the productions are American and British classics, such as Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw (currently playing) and Noel Coward's Hay Fever...
...general mayhem in the process. Erpingham, who stands for no such disturbances, promptly refuses to feed his campers and locks them within the grounds. In the classic rags-to-riches mode, Ken, with some help from Ted, leads a revolution against the director, and what follows is typically brutal Orton entropy...
...Although Orton is one of the subtlest of recent satirists, he cannot help hammering in some of his points. He uses this campy (excuse the pun) situation to mock post-World War political dynamics. Scenes smack with references to the French Revolution and the civil war in Ireland. While Erpingham views a crowd of insurgent campers, "La Marseillaise" can be heard from a distance. OK, Joe, I get the hint. The campers follow the typical revolutionary pattern: frustrated by their efforts at peaceful reform, the rabble are instigated to get violent to the point of complete overthrow of the "government...
...slam-on-the-brakes ending further unsettles the audience. Orton is too clever to present a simplistic, Marxist denouement where the proles emerge victorious. Instead, when the campers achieve their victory, they, including fireball Kenny, are unwilling to face up to what they did. The Erpingham insurgents begin to praise their own dictator; "revolution" accomplished nothing. They are back to square one as is the audience. The audience must be wondering who or what to believe in, and Orton's nihilism offers little comfort...
...circus complete with a strong man in a leopard skin (Ken), scantily-clad female (Lisa Lindley), fat lady (Eileen), can-can dancer (Ted), and Elvis impersonator (Donal Logue)--a deliriously wild spectacle that is one of this show's unforgettable moments. In this scene, Raphael also reminds us of Orton's message that we are all guests in this camp by having the two couples start off sitting in the audience. Wisely, Raphael keeps the pace fast and furious and never lets the audience off this roller coaster ride of a show...