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''The Ruffian on the Stair'' is a play by British
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his murder in 1967 committed by his partner, was short but highly i ...
which was first broadcast on
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
in 1964, in a production by
John Tydeman John Peter Tydeman OBE (30 March 1936 – 1 April 2020) was an English producer of radio and director of theatre plays. He was responsible for commissioning and directing the early plays of Caryl Churchill, Joe Orton, Tom Stoppard and Sue Townsen ...
. It is an unsympathetic yet comedic one-act portrayal of
working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, as played out by a couple and a mysterious young man who toys with their lives. It was based on ''The Boy Hairdresser'', a novel by Orton and his lover
Kenneth Halliwell Kenneth Leith Halliwell (23 June 1926 – 9 August 1967) was a British actor, writer and collagist. He was the mentor, boyfriend and murderer of playwright Joe Orton. Childhood Halliwell was born in Bebington near Liverpool. He was very clo ...
. The title and play are based on a few lines from poet and dramatist
William Ernest Henley William Ernest Henley (23 August 1849 11 July 1903) was a British poet, writer, critic and editor. Though he wrote several books of poetry, Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, th ...
: "Madam Life's a piece in bloom, / Death goes dogging everywhere: / She's the tenant of the room, / He's the ruffian on the stair." ''Ruffian'' is not as renowned as other works such as '' Loot'' and '' What the Butler Saw'', but it is still staged on occasion.


Sample dialogue

Joyce: "Have you got an appointment today?" Mike: "Yes, I'm to be at King’s Cross station at eleven. I'm meeting a man in the toilet." Joyce: "You always go to such interesting places."


Plot

Mike and Joyce are a poor
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
couple living in a bedsit. Mike is a self-described "derelict", ex-
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
thug from Donegal, who—despite claiming the dole—has a sideline as a proto- white van man, running people down for cash. Joyce is an ex-prostitute, and a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
from London. One day while Joyce is alone, a young and attractive man named Wilson arrives, asking for a room. During the conversation, he terrifies and threatens her, demanding to know where Mike's gun is. It becomes clear that he has been watching the flat for some time. Nevertheless, he leaves without harming her, despite having found and aimed the gun at her head. Mike returns, and a distraught Joyce relates the story. Typically, Mike tells Joyce she's overreacting and actually sympathizes with the young man, much to Joyce's astonishment and aggravation. The next day, when Joyce is left alone with her thoughts, a series of sudden, violent noises emanate from the stairs outside their apartment door and the rest of the building (including broken windows, a broken lock, and the sound of a man urinating on the floorboards). She pleads loudly for the perpetrator to stop, which they finally do by the end of the scene but not after a prolonged aural torture for Joyce. Naturally, she assumes it is Wilson, and, upon relating this incident to Mike, she is met with a similar lack of support. When Wilson does turn up again, he charms Mike using a claimed Irish ancestry, religious conviction, and his own considerable personal charms. During the conversation, the audience learns that Mike's last "job" was to kill Wilson's beloved elder brother Frank, with whom Wilson had been engaged in an
incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...
uous affair. Wilson is damaged, grief-stricken, and after revenge; an unusual revenge, however, as he seeks to be shot by Mike ("I don't wanna be injured. I want to be dead") in order to rejoin Frank. To goad Mike into the killing, he claims to be having sex with Joyce, and to have known her since her days as a prostitute; in fact, it was Frank who had sex with Joyce (and other women) during his relationship with Wilson. The following day, Mike leaves the flat wracked with jealousy, despite Joyce's protestations of innocence. Wilson arrives again, removing his trousers and wedging the door shut, in order that Mike—upon his return—will think that he's having sex with Joyce. As Joyce points out, the situation is absurd; Wilson is "only a little boy" (the script suggests he's 18), and to make the situation more ridiculous, Mike doesn't come home when expected. Wilson sadly concludes that he's failed at this just like everything else, and moves to get dressed; moved, however, Joyce puts her arms around him. It's at this point that Mike returns. Enraged, he shoots twice, killing Wilson with the second shot. Wilson survives long enough to reiterate his wish to be buried with Frank, then collapses. Mike and Joyce are both horrified by what has happened, but Joyce recovers quickly, planning what they'll tell the police. Suddenly, they notice that the first shot from Mike's gun knocked over Joyce's goldfish bowl, killing the fish inside. Both of them are far more upset about the goldfish than the dead boy, and thus the play ends.


Original cast

*Joyce -
Avis Bunnage Mildred Avis Bunnage (22 April 1923, Ardwick, Manchester – 4 October 1990, Thorpe Bay, Southend-on-Sea) was an English actress of film, stage and television. She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manches ...
*Mike - Dermot Kelly *Wilson -
Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a British film, television, radio and stage actor. His most notable screen roles were in '' Oliver!'' (1968), '' Up Pompeii'' (1971), '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988), '' Chocolat'' (1988), '' Layer ...


Original stage productions

Peter Gill directed the play on stage at the
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
on 21 August 1966. ;Original stage cast *Joyce - Sheila Ballantine *Mike -
Bernard Gallagher Bernard Gallagher (26 September 1929 – 27 November 2016) was an English actor known for his stage work, including with the National Theatre and the Royal Court; and his many appearances in television soap operas and dramas. He was born in Brad ...
*Wilson - Kenneth Cranham Together with ''
The Erpingham Camp ''The Erpingham Camp'' (1966) is a 52-minute television play by Joe Orton, which was later performed on stage. The play was originally produced by Associated-Rediffusion for inclusion in the ''Seven Deadly Sins'' series, representing pride. Dire ...
'', the play was then performed the following year at the Royal Court, also directed by Gill, in a double bill, ''Crimes of Passion''. ;Crimes of Passion cast *Joyce -
Avril Elgar Avril Elgar Williams (1 April 1932 – 17 September 2021) was an English stage, radio and television actress. Early life and career Avril Elgar Williams was born on 1 April 1932 at barracks in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England to Joh ...
*Mike - Bernard Gallagher *Wilson - Michael Standing


Adaptations

In 1973, ''
ITV Sunday Night Theatre ''ITV Sunday Night Theatre'', originally titled ''ITV Saturday Night Theatre'' and often shortened to simply ''Sunday Night Theatre'' or ''Saturday Night Theatre'', is a British television anthology series screened on ITV, whose episodes were co ...
'' broadcast a production of the play directed by
David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to ...
, starring
Judy Cornwell Judy Valerie Cornwell (born 22 February 1940) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Daisy in the British sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995). She also played Anya Claus in '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985). In ...
as Joyce, Michael Bryant as Mike, and Billy Hamon as Wilson.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffian On The Stair, The 1964 plays Plays about incest Plays by Joe Orton British radio dramas BBC Radio dramas Black comedy plays Ruffian on the Stair