Entertaining Mr Sloane

About the show

Mr Sloane, a young man looking for a place to board, happens by the residence of Kath, a middle-aged landlady whose home is on the outskirts of a rubbish dump. Kath is eager to have Mr Sloane as a tenant at her home, which she shares with her nearly-blind father Kemp. Getting acquainted with Mr Sloane, Kath is open about a previous relationship she had which led to her bearing a child; her brother insisted that she give it up for adoption because it was conceived out of wedlock. Mr Sloane reveals he is himself an orphan, though vague about his parents' death, except that they "passed away together". Kath's father immediately distrusts Mr Sloane, believing him to be the man who killed his employer some years earlier. After Kemp and Sloane have an altercation that gets Sloane stabbed in the leg, Kath starts making subtle advances toward the young man. When he tries to reciprocate, Kath facetiously warns him not to betray her trust. Her brother Ed soon arrives and is dismayed to see his sister's new boarder. Kemp has an estranged relationship with his son as he found him to be "committing some kind of felony in the bedroom" as a teenager. Despite Ed's initial opposition to Mr Sloane staying with his sister, after speaking with him, Ed eventually relents and even offers him a job as his chauffeur. As Sloane recovers from his injury, Kath returns wearing a transparent negligee and seemingly seduces Mr Sloane as the lights go down and Act One ends. The action resumes "some months later" and begins with Mr Sloane recounting an evening in which a young woman gave him her telephone number. Kath ambiguously hints at her jealousy, then reveals that she is pregnant and concerned that her brother will strongly disapprove. Ed arrives soon after and discovers that Mr Sloane took his car out joyriding the night before with his friends. Upon finding out that they also had a woman with them, Ed divulges that he feels women are crude, and misleading. Ed advises Sloane to pack his things as he will be on call as his assistant at all hours. When Sloane leaves the room to pack, Kemp mildly attempts to reconcile with his son, and conveys that Kath and Sloane have been sleeping together and he believes that Kath is pregnant. When confronted, Sloane confirms he has been sleeping with Kath, but claims that she "threw herself" at him. A short time later, Ed departs to buy cigarettes, and Kemp returns to confront Sloane as his employer's murderer. Sloane eventually attacks Kemp, resulting in his death. Upon finding his dead father, Ed is initially insistent that justice be served and Sloane be turned over to the police. However, Sloane persuades Ed to fabricate a story to make the death appear an accident, in exchange for his servitude. When Kath discovers the dead body, she is apprehensive to stray from the truth especially given Sloane's intention to go and live with her brother. Sloane finds himself in a predicament: if he stays with Kath, Ed will report the murder to the authorities, and vice versa if he chooses to leave with Ed. Ultimately, a compromise is reached that will result in the pair "sharing" Mr. Sloane a few months at a time.