The Low Culture Podcast: Joe Orton biopic Prick Up Your Ears

In this month's Quietus subscriber-only podcast, Luke Turner and John Doran catch up with some current cultural picks as John recommends Brandon Cronenberg film The Infinity Pool for summoning the spirit of JG Ballard and Wu-Tang soap opera Wu-Tang: An American Saga, while Luke reviews recent gigs by Heartworms and Richard Skelton. Then it’s on with the meat of the podcast, a discussion of 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears, Stephen Frears’ masterpiece about the lives and tragic deaths of playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell, played by Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina. Like Orton’s own life and work, it’s a film that has slightly disappeared from view in recent years, but we herald it as a classic of British cinema and a historical documentation of societal homophobia and prejudice. Along the way there’s discussion of the film’s balletic interpretation of gay cruising, Alan Bennett’s incredible script, codependent relationships, the joy of bleak humour, The Smiths, the art of collaging, Withnail & I and Maurice as companion pieces, and antidotes to the established narratives of 60s culture and Orton as a Lord of Misrule. Oh, and has John spotted the ghost of Orton leaving comments in online reviews? Listen below or via your usual podcast provider. Thanks to Alannah Chance for producing.