Overview
Synopsis
Joe Orton’s sharp, mischievous, and hilarious black comedy tells the story of Mr. Sloane, a 20 year old man with dangerous charm. He comes into the house of Kath, her brother Ed, and her father Kemp, looking to rent a room. It doesn’t take long before both Kath and Ed become infatuated with Sloane. Kath is looking for both a lover and a substitute child, while Ed soon engages Sloane as his chauffeur, dressed in leathers and a tight shirt. However, Kemp recognizes the young man from a former unsolved crime and he soon pays the price for this knowledge. Although Sloane believes himself to hold all the cards, he soon becomes the pawn in a shameless game of desire and sexual manipulation. Entertaining Mr Sloane offers a wickedly mischievous peep at the hypocrisy behind closed doors in the swinging sixties and explores the British middle-class fascination with sex.
Show Information
- Book
- Joe Orton
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Mature Audiences (M)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1964
- Genres
- Dark Comedy
- Settings
- Period, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- A house on the edge of a rubbish dump, England, 1960s
- Cast Size
- small
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- College/University, Regional Theatre, Professional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly Characters
Context
Entertaining Mr Sloane was first produced at the New Arts Theatre in London in May 1964. Playwright Terrence Rattigan saw the production and agreed to put up £3,000 in sponsorship to enable the play to move into the West End. It opened at the Wyndham’s Theatre the following month. Directed by Alan Schneider, the Broadway premiere of the play took place in October 1965 but the production closed after just 13 performances.
In 1975, Entertaining Mr Sloane was revived at London’s Royal Court
to read the context for Entertaining Mr Sloane and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
Act One opens as Kath shows a prospective lodger around the house she shares with her father and brother. Mr. Sloane is an attractive young man with an air of danger about him, and Kath is clearly attracted to him. As they negotiate the terms of his rent and board, she confides that she was once married and had a son who died but would now have been around the age of Sloane. However, Kath quickly admits that her son didn’t die, but was given up for adoption at the insistence of her
to read the plot for Entertaining Mr Sloane and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher