Flying Anvil Theatre presents the dark comedy “Loot,” by Joe Orton, opening March 17.
This outrageous farce combines a bank heist, a murder and one very mobile corpse in a show that takes nothing seriously, not even death. The show is sponsored by Bill Cherry and directed by Artistic Director Jayne Morgan.
Joe Orton’s gleefully anarchic satire of British hypocrisy caused a scandal when it premiered in 1965. “Loot” concerns the events surrounding the death and subsequent burial of the McLeavy family matriarch. A bank robbery has been committed by her son Hal and his friend/sometime boyfriend, Dennis; they need to find somewhere to stash the stolen money and decide her coffin is the best place to put it. This means that they need to find somewhere else to hide the body, and her corpse is dragged around the stage throughout the play.
Mrs. McLeavy’s corpse is hidden in a cupboard; her former nurse, Fay, proposes marriage to the newly widowed Mr. McLeavy; and Inspector Truscott arrives on the hunt for the money while claiming to be from the City Water Board. As the preparations for the funeral proceed, Dennis professes love for Fay. Mr. McLeavy is savaged by a crazed Afghan hound and Truscott discovers he can’t pin a crime on anyone. Bribes are negotiated and everyone agrees that “We must keep up appearances.”
Dennis and Hal are portrayed by Malik Baines and Eric Walker with Kara Van Veghel as the nurse, Fay. Greg Congleton and Jacques Durand are Mr. McLeavy and Truscott. Tim Coleman plays Meadows and Lisa Silverman plays the physically demanding role of the Corpse. (Van Veghel and Durand were last seen in Flying Anvil’s Christmas show, “Scrooge in Rouge.”)
Design and tech for the show is provided by stage manager Terry Pfeiffer, costumer Virginia Baldwin, lighting designer Jordan Vera, with sets and props by David Hutto and Margy Ragsdale.
Tickets for “Loot” are available at flyinganviltheatre.com or on the theatre’s Facebook page. The show opens with a Pay What You Can preview on Thursday, March 17, and runs through Sunday, April 3. Tickets are $27 and $28, $13 for students. The theatre is located at 1300 Rocky Hill Rd.
Content provided by Flying Anvil Theatre.