ARTS The Michigan Daily Thursday, October 10, 1985 Page 7 a x 'Loot' sacks society's institutions By Noelle Brower M ONEY. What would you do to to attain it? Maybe you'd play hide-and-go-seek with your mother's freshly embalmed corpse? Or perhaps you're too moral, and would settle for flushing all of your religious ideals down the toilet? The characters in Joe Orton's macabre play Loot, performed by Suspension Theatre, do all of the above and more; they play becomes a grotesque study in black humor that will either elicit cries of laughter or cries of outrage from the audience. In this blackest of farces Orton uses his sharp wit and keen observations of society to parody the conventional whodunit/mystery play. Orton wrote, "...my writing is a deliberate satire on bad theatre." "Orton is simply one of the most talented comic writers I've ever read. Loot is just about the funniest play I know," says Andy Mennick, artistic director of Suspension Theatre. But Orton, who has often been compared to playwright Oscar Wilde, does not write comedy just for comedy's sake. His plays are distorted tableaux of how he pictures society, but like reality facing the circus mirror the reflection is often more true than the subject itself. Like Wilde, who was an influence on Orton's writing, Orton's textual allusions are more profound than the surface comedy. "Orton is very often capable of writing a strong subtext and he doesn't just write for laughs. There is an anger that comes out of everything he writes which deals with socio-political-economic;, religious and sexual aspects of life," Mennick says, laughing at the distance he has just covered. But Mennick is not simply playing it safe by naming everything but the kitchen sink as a quality of Orton's writing; in Loot, Orton fuses all of these ideas and social standards and drags them through the mud with the good getting. dirty, and the bad smelling like roses. One is almost taken aback at the realization that while the play elicits belly-aching laughter, what we are laughing at are the sacred institutions of society, such as the church, the police (legal upholders of society's ideals), death and the family. In drawing such grisly pictures on life, Orton almost achieves the opposite ef- fect of constructive criticism; people cannot belive that anyone would be so blatantly nihilistic. He must be kid- ding, right? Wrong. Loot becomes a wolf in sheep's clothing; its humor and absurdity are extreme, yet its assertions are ob- viously true. Imagine a son carrying the body of his dead mother around the stage. He isn't looking for a decent burial place, he just wants to get rid of her so he can hide the loot somewhere. "Think of your mum. Your lovely old mum. She gave you birth," the son's bewildered accomplice says at his callous behavior. And in true Or- tonesque macabre the son replies, "I should thank anybody for that?" while we can abhor his actions, the question uneasily creeps into our minds that we might all be capable of doing the same, given the situation. When Loot first appeared in 1966, there was a strong public outcry against it. The Lord Chamberlain, in charge of licencing and censorship, a position that no longer exists in England, demanded that several revisions be made before Loot could be publicly performed. Through Loot was eventually suc- cessfully staged, Orton did nothing to eliminate the problem. He was as out- spoken in his personal life as he was in his plays. And like his idol, Wilde, Or- ton was looked down upon for his open homosexuality. "Orton's homosexuality was quite brave-for him the closet did not exist," explains Mennick, "His at- titude was one of 'The one way I'll ever be accepted is if my plays are famous. then I can be as outrageous as I want.' It gave him a licence to shock." This attitude coupled with a stub- born ego only made it harder for Or- ton to obtain the acceptance he wan- ted so badly. "Orton had a big ego. He lapped up fame with every ounce of his body," says Mennick. Unfor- tunately it was Orton's brutal murder by his longtime lover that made his plays infamously lasting, and for a while, blacklisted. On August 9, 1967, Orton's frustrated lover, Kenneth Halliway, who years before had befriended Or- ton and smoothed the rough edges of his writing, bludgeoned Orton to death, and then swallowed 22 Nem- butals. In 1973 Orton's plays were revived, newly interpreted, and very successful, establishing him as a playwright of lasting stature. Orton had become an influence for such playwrights as Stoppard and Durang. "(It took all these later writers) to bring that kind of outrage to the stage and make it accep- table-but in a sense water it down becuase they weren't Orton-to bring their own ideas to it. This made Orton more accessible," explains Mennick. "Orton writes about oppression and anarchy and how we welcome it in- to our lives and accept it as authority," says Mennick. Go see for yourself. What would you do in the position of the characters in Loot? Performances are tonight though Sunday and the following weekend at the Performance Net- work. Showtime is 8 p.m.; with matinees at 4p.m. on Sundays. t Grand Opening! Endless Summer A Silver Tanning Center Stadium Centre, 1896 W. Stadium at Pauline * 662-2602 " " " " ONE OF ANN ARBOR'S NEWEST & MOST MODERN FACILITIES FAST ONE-STEP 16 MINUTE TANNING SESSIONS DUAL FACIAL TANNERS PLENTY OF FREE PARKING Apple honors Lennon Grand Opening specials NEW YORK (UPI)-"Strawberry Fields," a tear-drop-shaped memoral garden in Central Park, was dedicated to former Beatle John Len- non, a tribute that his widow likened to "taking a sad song and making it better." Yesterday would have been Len- non's 45th birthday had he not been murdered in 1980. It was the 10th bir- thday of his son Sean, who stood shyly beside his mother, Yoko Ono, as she addressed 250 invited guests under clear autumn skies. "This garden is the result of all of us dreaming together. It is our way of taking a sad song and making it bet- ter," said Ono, borrowing a line from the Beatles' classic, "Hey Jude." "May the birth of this garden be the beginning of the century of peace." The 2%-acre memorial is at the park's 72nd Street entrance, across Central Park West from the Dakota - the gothic brick building where Ono still lives, and outside wehre Mark David Chapman sho Lennon on Dec. 8, 1980. It is graced with trees, plants, and other gifts from 123 nations, including a round black and white mosaic from Italy with the word "Imagine" at the center. "Imagine" was the name of a 1971 song and album of Lennon's. Ono paid $1 million for the garden and its perpetual upkeep. Mayor Edward Koch, who signed a bill to create the park four months after Lennon was killed, called it a "tranquil glade" and said it was most appropriate. "Here in Central Park, John's vision of a world living in harmony has been translated faithfully into a garden of peace," he said. Guests included singers Robert Flack and Melanie, screen star Michael Douglas, and Marcella Perez de Cuellar, wife of the United Nations See CENTRAL, Page 8 Unlimited Tanning for 30 days $79.00* Special Tanning Programs for October and November 4 sessions 6 sessions 10 sessions 20 sessions REGULAR PRICE $ 28.00 $ 40.00 $ 60.40 $100.00 SPECIAL PRICE $19.95 $29.95 $39.95 $74.95 *Sessions must be used by November 30th and are limited to one per day. I I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NEW NATIONAL SO RORITY!! Lennon ... remembered at garden dedication I Freshman - Sophomore - Junior - Senior Women Welcome!! WHAT ARE' WEEKENDS MADE OF? EE S4°- AND READING THE WEEKEND MAGAZINE Alpha XI Delta Rush Party: Personal Interview: Thursday, October 10, 7:00 p.m. Pendleton Room, Michigan Union Friday, October 11, 7:00 am - Michigan Union (If you do not have an appointment, please contact Panhellenic at 663-4505.) Preference Party: Saturday, October 12, 4:00 p.m. Location will be announced. 7, 1 , ick Up a Copy! Take 0111 Of rti w.n con v "D .rr 1 text $ .. THEATRE Report to noress fo-,t [J USIC AQi? s - a w~p.rill- F