Prick Up Your Ears The Biography Of Joe Orton [Paperback]

Told with precision and extensive detail,Prick Up Your Earsis the engrossing biography of playwright and novelist Joe Orton. Orton’s public career spanned only three years (1964–1967), but his work made a lasting mark on the international stage. FromEntertaining Mr. Sloaneto his career-makingLoot,Orton’s plays often shocked, sometimes outraged, and always captivated audiences with their dark yet farcical cynicism. A rising star and undeniable talent, Orton left much undone when he was bludgeoned to death by his lover, Kenneth Halliwell, who had educated Orton and also dreamed of becoming a famous writer.

 

Prick Up Your Earswas the basis for the distinguished 1987 film of the same name, directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Alan Bennett, and starring Gary Oldman and Vanessa Redgrave. A brilliant, page-turning examination of the dueling forces behind Orton’s work,Prick Up Your Earssecured the playwright’s reputation as a great twentieth-century artist.