Buy Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection - Bookswagon
close menu
Bookswagon
search
My Account
Home > Fiction and Literature Books > Fiction: general and literary > MODERN & contemporary fiction > Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries
Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries

Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Out of Stock


Notify me when this book is in stock
X
About the Book

Selected plays by the great playwright Joe Orton, plus bonus material

Joe Orton was among the towering geniuses of 1960s theatre. His life was tragically cut short in 1967, but he left behind him a handful of shocking and scabrous black comedies that will live on in the public imagination for years to come. Orton’s career was kickstarted by the BBC. John Tydeman who is widely considered to have found him when working at the BBC as an trainee. He came across an early version of The Ruffian on the Stair called The Boy Hairdresser and persuaded his seniors to let him meet him and discuss the play, there began a friendship that shaped Orton’s life. Tydeman recommended a top literary agent and the rest is history.

Featured here are two of his lesser-known works, The Erpingham Camp and The Ruffian on the Stair, collected together as a double bill. The former, loosely based on Euripides’ tragedy The Bacchae, is an anarchic, subversive farce set in a holiday camp, where a group of campers decide to revolt against the dictatorial owner. It stars an ensemble cast, including Robert Daws and Jonjo O’Neill. In the latter, Orton’s breakthrough hit, an ex-boxer (Gerard Horan) and an ex-prostitute (Sophie Thompson) have their lives disrupted by a stranger (Jack Rowan). Recorded live at the BBC’s radio theatre in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton's death, the plays are accompanied by an interview with Orton's friend, Kenneth Cranham, who discusses the Joe Orton he knew.

Also featured are the darkly comic Funeral Games, starring Phil Daniels, Martin Jarvis, Tony Rohr and Liza Sadovy, which takes a sideswipe at religious hypocrisy and is considered the linking work between his two key plays, Loot and What the Butler Saw. Plus, John Sessions reads extracts from Joe Orton’s posthumously published journals in The Orton Diaries; Ned Sherrin hears from Kenneth Williams about his experiences directing Loot in Kenneth Williams on Joe Orton, and Samira Akhmed talks to guests including Orton’s sister Leonie and Sheila Hancock about the playwright’s life and legacy in Front Row: Joe Orton.

Production credits
Text copyright © Joe Orton 1964 (The Ruffian on the Stair), 1966 (The Erpingham Camp), 1968 (Funeral Games), 1986 (The Orton Diaries)
All rights reserved

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
Accordion Player – Colin Guthrie

The Ruffian on the Stair
Mike – Gerard Horan
Joyce – Sophie Thompson
Wilson – Jack Rowan
Produced by Mary Peate
Kenneth Cranham interview by Matthew Sweet
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 July 2017

Funeral Games
Caulfield – Phil Daniels
Pringle – Martin Jarvis
McCorquodale – Tony Rohr
Tessa – Liza Sadovy
Policeman – Ben Crowe
Produced and directed by Peter Kavanagh
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11 July 2008

Joe Orton: The Orton Diaries
Diary selections read by John Sessions
Produced by Ned Chaillet
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 March 1994

Kenneth Williams on Joe Orton
With Kenneth Williams and Ned Sherrin
Produced by Ian Gardhouse
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, September 1980

Front Row: Joe Orton
Presented by Samira Ahmed
Produced by Ekene Akalawu
With Leonie Orton, Emma Parker, Sally Norman, Jenna Forbes, John Lahr, Sheila Hancock, Nikolai Foster
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11 August 2017

© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd



About the Author :
Ben Crowe is one of the world's most in-demand professional mentors and leadership coaches. His career began at Nike, working in international sports marketing with many of the world's most famous athletes, before he left to follow his purpose of helping athletes separate what they do from who they are, and find perspective and meaning. As a mindset coach he has changed the lives of many of the world's most successful sportspeople, including Grand Slam champions Ash Barty and Dylan Alcott, surfing world champions Stephanie Gilmore and Molly Picklum, as well as NBA basketball teams, professional football teams and the Australian cricket team. His unique approach to connection, purpose and high performance has led to Ben working with global corporations, including the world's largest technology companies and financial institutions, the World Health Organization (WHO), universities, hospitals and schools. During the global pandemic, driven by a desire to help people quickly at scale, Ben founded Mojo, a perspective company that believes focusing on the human-being first makes the human-doing better. Today, people all over the world are implementing 'the Mojo way'.


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781529911800
  • Publisher: BBC Audio, A Division Of Random House
  • Publisher Imprint: BBC Digital Audio
  • Edition: Unabridged edition
  • Sub Title: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries
  • ISBN-10: 152991180X
  • Publisher Date: 31 Jul 2025
  • Binding: Downloadable audio file
  • Language: English


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries
BBC Audio, A Division Of Random House -
Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection: Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    Fresh on the Shelf


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!
    Your IP: 216.73.216.237 IN