Transgression In Sport

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Transgression is when someone or something neglects the social ‘norms’ and rules that hold society in place. Joe Orton uses transgression as a technique to make the audience laugh but also as a subtle judgement on society in the 1960’s; some of which can still be seen as relevant today. One the of most prominent examples of this, in my opinion, is the absence of ‘professional’ qualities from the characters in the play which can be seen from the very start, for example; you would expect someone who is applying for a secretarial position to be able to type however Geraldine Barclay’s character does not have this essential skill for the job she is being interviewed for. Another way in which Orton uses transgression in the play is by using transvestism and by questioning the sexual orientation and the mental health of the characters. Probably one of the strongest examples of transgression from society in the play is the character of Doctor Prentice who would be seen as quite sinister without the use of farce to…show more content…
I think an audience watching the play in the late 1960’s would be shocked by the setting of the play as mental institutions would have been, and still are, something that people generally avoid talking or even thinking about. Orton forces his audience to think about these uncomfortable real life situations through the reoccurring theme of insanity and madness within the play. Although this would probably shock the audience initially, I think that both a 1960’s audience and an audience today would have found the physical humour of the strait jackets being thrown across the stage and the accidental overdose of a police officer more amusing than

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