Loot (play)

Loot
Front cover of programme for the 1992 production at the Lyric Hammersmith
Written by	Joe Orton
Characters	McLeavy, Fay, Hal, Dennis, Truscott, Meadows
Date premiered	1 February 1965 (1965-02-01)
Place premiered	Cambridge, England
Original language	English
Genre	Farce

Loot is a two-act play by the English playwright Joe Orton. The play is a dark farce that satirises the Roman Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and the integrity of the police force.

Loot was Orton's third major production, following Entertaining Mr Sloane and the television play The Good and Faithful Servant. Playing with the conventions of popular farce, Orton creates a hectic world and examines English attitudes and perceptions in the mid twentieth century. The play won several awards in its London run and has had many revivals.

Loot follows the fortunes of two young thieves, Hal and Dennis. Together they rob the bank next to the funeral parlour where Dennis works and return to Hal's home to hide the money. Hal's mother has just died and the money is hidden in her coffin while her body keeps on appearing around the house. Upon the arrival of Inspector Truscott, the plot turns topsy-turvy as Hal and Dennis try to keep him off their trail, aided by Nurse McMahon and to the despair of Hal's father, Mr. McLeavy. As a play, it satirises not only the issues of bereavement, but the public perspective of the police force with regards to laws and corruption.

Orton completed a first draft in October 1964, which premiered in Cambridge on 1 February 1965. The production starred Geraldine McEwan, Kenneth Williams, Duncan Macrae and Ian McShane and was directed by Peter Wood.

Responses to the first production were extremely mixed, with many in the audience outraged, as Orton had intended, but largely negative reviews also affected the box office. The first run ended at Wimbledon on 20 March 1965 with the play considered a flop due to its problems with repeated script rewrites, uneven direction, a stylish and unsympathetic set, and what many considered the miscasting of Williams.

Loot was successfully revived the following year, however, at the Jeanette Cochrane Theatre in Holborn. It opened on 27 September 1966 with Gerry Duggan as McLeavy, Sheila Ballantine as Fay, Kenneth Cranham as Hal, Simon Ward as Dennis, and Michael Bates as Inspector Truscott. It was directed by Charles Marowitz and designed by Tony Carruthers. The production transferred to the Criterion Theatre in November 1966.