Prick Up Your Ears

The screening on 15th May will be introduced by playwright Tom Wright (Please Please Me).

Written by Alan Bennett and directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen, High Fidelity), Prick Up Your Ears is based on the true story that shook the sixties, starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina in career-best roles. Upstart playwright Joe Orton (Oldman) is tearing a swathe through ‘60s London, with his partner Kenneth Halliwell (Molina) in tow. Commissioned by Brian Epstein to write a biopic of The Beatles, his success bears a dark shadow as Halliwell’s jealousy and mental health spiral.

Prick Up Your Ears was selected by Please Please Me writer Tom Wright as a parallel story of a successful gay man whose life were cut short; yet where Brian Epstein’s life was closeted, Joe Orton is unabashed and unashamed. Featuring some hilariously iconic dialogue, the cream of acting talent in supporting roles, a cheeky performance from Gary Oldman and a high camp turn from Alfred Molina, as well as capturing ‘60s London in poignant detail, this is a British classic, rarely screened.