What the Butler Saw

By Joe Orton

Directed by Katrina Stevenson

Extended! Jan. 7 – 29, 2010

Thu. – Sat. 8pm, Sun. 4pm

Tickets: $24.50

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center for the Performing Arts

What the Butler Saw is a blast ... very entertaining ... If you're not looking for anything more than two hours of low-brow entertainment, and if you don't mind the playwright's obsession with sex, Orton's play and Jobsite's production can serve up exactly what you're hungry for. – St. Peterburg Times
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Creative Loafing Best of the Bay

A swingin’ 60’s British sex farce

When high-strung psychiatrist Dr. Prentice tries to seduce an innocent secretary on her first job interview, his botched efforts leads to comic bedlam involving his nymphomaniac wife, a randy bellhop, a befuddled police officer, an insane asylum inspector and ultimately, the formidable manhood of Sir Winston Churchill.

It is as outrageous as it is entertaining, and its unrestrained depiction of a world gone mad displays Orton’s talent at its subversive best. Wild, risqué, and ferociously playful, Orton’s uproarious farce is one of the seminal works of modern comedy.

The premiere of What the Butler Saw, Joe Orton’s final (and arguably finest) play, produced almost two years after his death at the hands of his lover, sent shockwaves through London audiences, who were scandalized by its lewd humor and madcap energy, but who still could not deny his work anything other than drop-dead funny.

Intended for mature audiences, What the Butler Saw features rampant cross-dressing, undressing, scathing commentary on psychiatry, marriage, sexuality and government, but no actual butler. The title refers to a coin-operated machine that was used to display pornography.

Hilarious, outrageous ... toying with words as if they were firecrackers … the ending is a delight that Oscar Wilde might have dreamed up in a sequel to The Importance of Being Earnest.

Katie Castonguay and David M. Jenkins in Jobsite's What the Butler Saw. (Photo by Pritchard Photography.)

Media

Know before you go!

We’re almost ready for our grand opening of our first show of 2010 – What the Butler Saw. Tonight is our final tech, tomorrow is

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Cast & Crew

  • Katrina Stevenson – Director
  • Xylina Golding – Stage Manager

Cast

  • Katie Castonguay – Geraldine Barclay
  • David M. Jenkins – Dr. Prentice
  • Caroline Jett – Mrs. Prentice
  • Michael C. McGreevy – Sgt. Match
  • Dayton Sinkia – Nicholas Beckett
  • Ward Smith – Dr. Rance

Crew

  • David M. Jenkins – Sound Designer
  • Greg Newcomb – Graphic Designer
  • Brian M. Smallheer – Scenic and Lighting Designer
  • Katrina Stevenson – Costumer Designer

Patron Reviews

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