Soulpepper Brings Macabre Black Comedy LOOT To The Young Centre 6/5-8/1

Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, today announced Joe Orton's scandalously macabre black comedy, Loot, as the company's next production this season, running June 5 to August 1 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

Joe Orton's wild parody of detective fiction begins when the stash from a bank robbery is hidden in a coffin. As the thieves scramble to hide the body from a bumbling police inspector who is hot on their heels, Orton introduces a cast of absurdly devious characters in this shocking and hilarious tale of greed.

Loot saw its first production in Cambridge, England, in 1965 and was the fifth of 10 plays Orton wrote before he was murdered, at age 34, in 1967. Orton's biography was written by American theatre critic John Lahr and also took the form of a 1987 feature film of the same name, Prick Up Your Ears, which was based largely on Orten's diaries, as well as Lahr's book. Orton's reputation has risen steadily in recent years as one of the funniest and most subversive English writers of his generation.

Jim Warren directs this outrageous farce with Oliver Dennis as McLeavy, Nicole Underhay as Fay, Matthew Edison as Hal, Jonathan Watton as Dennis, Founding Member Michael Hanrahan as Truscott, and Derek Boyes as Meadows.

Previewing June 5, 2009, Loot opens June 18 and runs until August 1 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, located at 55 Mill Street, Building 49, in the Distillery Historic District. Tickets range from $28 - $68 and are available by calling the Young Centre box office at 416.866.8666 or by visiting www.soulpepper.ca

This production is sponsored by MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. 2009 Soulpepper Lead Sponsors are: Sun Life Financial, Scotiabank Group and TELUS. Soulpepper gratefully acknowledges annual operating support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

Soulpepper Theatre Company is an artist-founded, classical repertory theatre company with a three-tiered mandate: to present the world's greatest stories in vital Canadian interpretations; to train a new generation of theatre artists; and to inspire and enrich youth through mentorship and access programs.