{"product_id":"the-visitors-and-fred-and-madge-two-plays-9780802136282","title":"The Visitors and Fred and Madge: Two Plays","description":"As one of Britain's legendary group of Angry Young Men dramatists, Joe Orton shot to fame on the strength of vicious farces like \u003ci\u003eLoot\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWhat the Butler Saw.\u003c\/i\u003e Today, with Orton's work garnering increasing attention and recognition in the wake of the 1987 feature film about his life, \u003ci\u003ePrick Up Your Ears, \u003c\/i\u003e his early writing has still remained obscure. Now the publication of these two recently discovered plays, written immediately before his breakthrough successes, reveals a key moment in his development as a dramatist. \u003ci\u003eFred \u0026amp; Madge, \u003c\/i\u003e Orton's first play, is an absurdist drama, fraught with social critique and sexual innuendo. It's the story of a married couple whose respective jobs are the Sisyphean task of rolling boulders uphill and sieving water all day long, until they discover they are inhabiting a play about themselves. \u003ci\u003eThe Visitors\u003c\/i\u003e is a brutally realistic rendering of a dying man who is visited in the hospital by his middle-aged daughter, while the attending nurses spend more time fighting than caring for their patients. Written in 1961, it shows the beginnings of the mature voice that would come to fruition in his next projects, \u003ci\u003eThe Ruffian on the Stair\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eEntertaining Mr. Sloane, \u003c\/i\u003e which made his name in London and the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Grove Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/10\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780802136282\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.49lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.48w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/1999\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Joe Orton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42277145215157,"sku":"9780802136282","price":11.05,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_b11d62a9-2496-4dbc-ae40-0512a06b1765.jpg?v=1657595264","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-visitors-and-fred-and-madge-two-plays-9780802136282","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}