Loot (1965) and What the Butler Saw (1969) are among Orton's most renowned plays, showcasing his expertise in crafting stage farces.

In Not in Front of the Audience: Homosexuality on Stage (1992), Nicholas de Jongh offers an in-depth and engaging history of how homosexual characters have been depicted in theatre.

The Orton Diaries (1986), edited by John Lahr, chronicles the final eight months of Orton's life, spanning from December 1966 to August 1967. It also features entries from a diary Orton sporadically kept during his youth. The explicit references to sexuality in these diaries vividly capture Orton's personality, offering insights into the bold themes and tones present in his plays.

Harold Pinter, another British playwright, influenced Orton's early work with plays like The Room (1957) and The Birthday Party (1958). Pinter's The Homecoming (1965) also explores themes of an "intruder" and shared sexuality.

Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) is a late 19th-century comedy of manners that set a high bar for verbal wit—a standard Orton arguably approaches. London theatre critic Ronald Bryden famously called Orton the "Oscar Wilde of Welfare State gentility" in a review of Loot.

Ray Cooney's Not Now Darling (1967) and Run for Your Wife (1983) are more traditional British farces, designed to entertain audiences through quick-paced plots and humor akin to television sitcoms. Meanwhile, Georges Feydeau, the French "Father of Modern Farce," demonstrated in works like A Little Hotel on the Side (1894) and A Flea in Her Ear (1907) how farce can treat sex with an almost clinical detachment. In contrast, Noel Coward's Hay Fever (1925) and Private Lives (1930) exemplify classic British farce, with a greater emphasis on witty dialogue than on sexual antics.