Drama On 3: Joe Orton Double Bill
As part of the BBC's Gay Britannia season, Radio 3 presents Joe Orton's plays The Ruffian On The Stair and The Erpingham Camp.
Crimes of Passion, a double-bill of Joe Orton plays recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton’s death, plus an interview with Kenneth Cranham, a close friend of Orton’s who played several key roles in his plays. The two plays are Orton’s first BBC commission The Ruffian On The Stair – a Pinteresque radio play about a couple whose lives are disrupted by a young visitor – and The Erpingham Camp, Orton’s rambunctious farce re-imagining The Bacchae, set in a 1960s holiday camp.
This programme is part of Gay Britannia, a season of programming across the BBC marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967, celebrating the LGBTQ community, challenging existing preconceptions and prejudices, casting a fresh light on the history of gay Britain, and exploring what it means to be gay in Britain today.
The Erpingham Camp
Erpingham… Robert Daws
Riley… Jonjo O’Neill
Lou… Kerry Gooderson
Ted… Samuel James
Kenny… Charlie Clements
Eileen… Sarah Ridgeway
W.E. Harrison… Tom Forrister
Jessie Mason… Sanchia McCormack
Padre… Simon Ludders
The Ruffian On The Stair
Mike… Gerard Horan
Joyce… Sophie Thompson
Wilson… Jack Rowan
Producer: Mary Peate
Air date
Sunday 2 July 9.00pm-11.00pm BBC Radio 3
Photo by BBC