British Comedy Guide

The Ruffian On The Stair (2017)

  • Radio comedy drama
  • BBC Radio 3
  • 2017
  • 1 episode

Working class comic play by Joe Orton about a couple whose lives are disrupted by a young visitor. Also features Gerard Horan, Sophie Thompson and Jack Rowan.

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Key details

Genre
Comedy Drama
Broadcast
2017
Channel
BBC Radio 3
Episodes
1
Stars
Gerard Horan, Sophie Thompson and Jack Rowan
Writers
Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell
Producer
Mary Peate
Company

Broadcast as part of the BBC's Gay Britannia season, this is the first of two plays forming Crimes of Passion, a double-bill of Joe Orton plays (the other being The Erpingham Camp) 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 Ruffian On The Stair adapted from the novel The Boy Hairdresser by Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell, the play follows working class couple Mike and Joyce (Gerard Horan and Sophie Thompson) whose lives are interrupted by a young, mysterious visitor named Wilson (Jack Rowan).

Additional details

Also known as
  • The Boy Hairdresser (Title of the original novel)
Production
Studio

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Sunday 2nd July 2017 at 10pm on BBC Radio 3
Episode length
1 hour

Recording details

  • BBC Radio Theatre

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