'Memorial toilet' proposed in London for gay playwright
LONDON (AFP) - A trader proposing a new set of public toilets in a popular north London entertainment district has come up with a novel way to sell the idea -- name them after gay playwright Joe Orton.
But Mike Weedon's suggestion has its critics.
One told the local newspaper it would be an "insult" to Orton's memory while the council said it didn't think it was appropriate.
Orton, celebrated in the 1987 film "Prick Up Your Ears", wrote a series of popular but controversial plays, including "Loot", "What the Butler Saw" and "Entertaining Mr Sloane".
In the era of "Swinging London", he was also know for his clandestine gay trysts in public toilets in and around his home in Islington at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Britain.
"I think having a toilet with a blue plaque dedicated to him would suit his personality," said Weedon, who belongs to a local traders group.
"He did what he did because it was the only place he could do it in those days and I think it would show how attitudes have changed," he told the weekly Islington Gazette.
"We wouldn't be celebrating cottaging (gay sex in public toilets) -- we would be celebrating how much more liberal we are these days," he added.
Islington Council's deputy leader Terry Stacy admitted more public conveniences were needed as the area was popular with pub- and club-goers, but said naming them after Orton was a step too far.
"I would only support a blue plaque on a toilet if something worth commemorating happened there, and I doubt there is a toilet in the country that can lay claim to that," he said.
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