Overview

This is Orton's first play. The title characters seem to be the stereotypical middle-aged couple, bored with each other, talking in clichés. But it turns out that Fred's job is to push boulders uphill like Sisyphus, and Madge's is to sieve water all day long. Further, since the action is repeatedly interrupted and commented on by a figure like a director, it seems they are inhabiting a play about themselves. A brilliantly inventive and staggeringly bold piece of theatre.