Loot (play) - Definition and Overview

Loot is a play by Joe Orton which was first performed in London in 1966. The play is an extremely black farce which satirises the Catholic Church, social attitudes to death, and the integrity of the police force. Responses to the first production were predictably extremely mixed, with many in the audience outraged, as Orton had gleefully intended. The play has since gained a reputation as a comic masterpiece and has had many revivals.

Plot outline

Hal and Dennis have robbed the bank next door to the funeral parlour where Dennis works. Hal's mother has just died. They hide the money in the coffin and put the corpse in a wardrobe. Inspector Truscott arrives on the scene to investigate and finds Hal's mother's glass eye. Much farce ensues.