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Joe Orton was born John Kingsley Orton in Leicester and, from the age of two, lived on the Saffron Lane council estate. -
His family moved to Fayrhurst Road on the Saffron Lane estate in 1935.
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As a child, Joe suffered from extended bouts of asthma. This caused him to miss a significant amount of school.
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Joe orton begins primary school at Marriot Road Primary School. It is unknown what year/date (date shown is an estimate done by me) -
eleven-plus, in England, a competitive examination given between primary and secondary school at about age 11. It evolved after 1944 as a means of determining in which of the three types of secondary school—grammar, technical, or modern—a child should continue his education.
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joe orton failed the eleven Plus exam, which was directly due to the significant amount of school he missed due to his asthma.
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Clark's College in Leicester was a branch of a historical business education institution that operated throughout England and Wales
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Joe Orton's first significant diary writings, known as his "juvenile diaries," were kept between 1949 and 1951
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a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio.
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Joe Orton was accepted for a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in November 1950. Joe attends seeking to develop a strong ambition and to become an actor and work in theatre after participating in amateur productions.
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Joe and Kenneth quickly bonded over their shared aspirations as struggling writers, a romantic relationship, and a rebellious, anarchic sense of humor. -
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Orton moved in with Halliwell barely three weeks after meeting him, in 1951.
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1959-1961: Began writing plays, including his early work Fred and Madge and The Visitors.
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Orton and Halliwell would remove books from the shelves of their local library in North London. Halliwell would then rework the cover art, while Orton would write fabricated blurbs for the dust jackets. -
Pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison for the library book defacement. -
From 1953 to 1963, Orton and Halliwell wrote several collaborative novels. These manuscripts, though unpublished at the time, served as a testing ground for the ideas and themes that would later emerge in Orton's successful plays.
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1964: His play Entertaining Mr Sloane premiered, becoming his first major theatrical success and bringing him critical praise and controversy. -
1966: His play Loot won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. -
He started writing it on December 20, 1966, at the suggestion of his agent, Peggy Ramsey. The second diary was kept during the last eight months of his life, covering December 1966 to August 1967. -
A chauffeur who arrived at their Islington, London, flat in the late morning of August 9th would come to find a murder-suicide. Kenneth would take a hammer and hit Joe's head 9 times, and then overdose on sleeping pills. Leaving a letter behind, "If you read his diary, all will be explained," which provides insight into his motivations. -