Joe Orton classic on the Eastbourne stage

A spokesman said: “This breakneck comedy farce is packed with twists and turns and exhausting changes in fortune for the six characters who in turn lose their train of thought and some even their clothes but never their verbal possession in this classic comedy.

“The play contains strong language and subject matter which the playwright very much hoped audiences would find offensive.”

To book call the box office on 01323 412000 or online at www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk.

Michael Cabot, the founder and artistic director of London Classic Theatre, directs; Alex Cardall (The Box of Delights, RSC) who plays Nicholas Beckett, John Dorney (Boeing Boeing, Absurd Person Singular for London Classic Theatre) is Doctor Prentice, Alana Jackson (Interiors, Barbican Theatre) is Geraldine Barclay, Jack Lord (War Horse, National Theatre, UK tour) is Doctor Rance, Jon-Paul Rowden (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Churchill Theatre, Bromley) is Sergeant Match and Holly Smith (The Great Gatsby, Theatre Royal Windsor) will be Mrs Prentice.

“Within the pristine walls of his private psychiatric clinic, Doctor Prentice is interviewing a new secretary. Geraldine wants the position but seems underqualified and uncertain about her parentage. Mrs Prentice appears, flushed and in urgent need of a drink following an illicit encounter with Nick Beckett, blackmailer and bell boy at the Station Hotel. In the meantime, Doctor Rance, a government Inspector and Sergeant Match, a policeman, arrive amidst increasing chaos with searching questions…

“What The Butler Saw is Joe Orton’s final, most ambitious play, manic farce and a masterclass in fearless comic writing. No institution, political view or tradition is safe as Orton focuses his wicked sense of humour on a range of targets, including the establishment, an ex-Prime Minister, misogyny and the medical profession. He brings together an array of distinctive characters placing them in a series of improbable situations, unflinchingly exploring comic territory few playwrights before or since have dared to visit.”

John Kingsley (Joe) Orton, playwright, author and diarist was born in Leicester in 1933. During a short, but dazzling career in the London theatre world, he shocked, outraged and delighted audiences with his riotous black comedies including Loot, The Ruffian on the Stair and Entertaining Mr Sloane.

•Also coming up, Resurgence – Art from the Wastes is the latest exhibition at the Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes, running from April 20-28.

It features the work of Steve Bannatyne from Kingston, near Lewes.

He explains: “The exhibition is a collection of eight individual, explorative projects that showcase methods I have developed to reuse waste materials to create art. My work is inspired by my desire to use less to create more, using materials that are destined for landfill.”