Prick Up Your Ears Synopsis - Prick Up Your Ears is the true story of hip 1960's playwright Joe Orton. The film picks up the story as Joe gets into acting school, and it is here he meets fellow student Kenneth Halliwell who is a few years older than Orton. The pair begin a relationship and they both commence writing plays. Halliwell is uptight and possessive of Orton, whilst Orton is carefree and tends to shy away from the confines of his relationship with Halliwell seeking instead the danger of furtive homosexual liaisons in public lavatories. This is particularly dangerous as homosexuality is at the time against the law. Orton's risque plays start to gain notoriety and he achieves fame with when his plays "Loot" and "What The Butler Saw" become hits in the West End. Suddenly everyone wants a bit of him, and he fails to notice the jealousy (professional and sexual) creeping into his long term partner.