What the Butler Saw
This specific production does not yet have a description, but the play itself does:
What the Butler Saw is a two-act farce written by the English playwright Joe Orton. He began work on the play in 1966 and completed it in July 1967, one month before his death. It opened at the Queen’s Theatre in London on 5 March 1969. Orton’s final play, it was the second to be performed after his death, following Funeral Games in 1968.
The play consists of two acts – though the action is continuous – and revolves around a Dr Prentice, a psychiatrist attempting to seduce his attractive prospective secretary, Geraldine Barclay. The play opens with the doctor examining Geraldine in a job interview, during which he persuades her to undress. The situation becomes more intense when Mrs Prentice enters, causing the doctor to hide Geraldine behind a curtain.
His wife, however, is also being seduced and blackmailed, by Nicholas Beckett. She therefore promises Nicholas the post as secretary, which adds further confusion, including Nicholas, Geraldine and a police officer dressing as members of the opposite sex.
Dr Prentice’s clinic is also faced with a government inspection, led by Dr Rance, which reveals the chaos in the clinic. Dr Rance talks about how he will use the situation to develop a new book: “The final chapters of my book are knitting together: incest, buggery, outrageous women and strange love-cults catering for depraved appetites. All the fashionable bric-a-brac.” A penis (“the missing parts of Sir Winston Churchill”) is held aloft in the climactic scene.
Cast & Crew
Cast
Dr Prentice | Michael Medwin |
---|---|
Dr Rance | Valentine Dyall |
Geraldine Barclay | Jane Carr |
Mrs Prentice | Betty Marsden |
Nicholas Beckett | Kevin Lloyd |
Sergeant Match | Brian Glover |
Crew | |
Designer | Jocelyn Herbert |
Director | Lindsay Anderson |
Lighting | Nick Chelton |
Music | Alan Price |
Presented by | Eddie Kulukundis |
Presented by | Michael White |
Production Manager | Andrew Treagus |
Programme Cover and Poster Design | Yves Simard |
Programme Design | Pip Paton-Walker |
Rehearsal and Production Photographs | David Montgomery |
Assistant Director | Jon Plowman |
Assistant Stage Manager | Pauline Asper |
Company and Stage Manager | Juliet Elizabeth Alliston |
Deputy Stage Manager | Pauline Lee |
Miss Marsden and Miss Carr’s wigs by | Wig Creations |
Miss Marsden’s camiknickers by | Keith Hunter |
Mr Lloyd and Mr Glover’s dresses by | Jenni Green |
Set built by | FTV Ltd |
Set painted by | David Lawes |
- Added by Jared William.
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