Last Reviewed on June 19, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 216

Loot is a play and has a short cast of characters. They include:

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Hal, a young man and thief

Dennis, another young man who works at a funeral home—possibly Hal's lover—also a thief

Mrs. McCleavy - recently deceased; a corpse (mother to Hal)

Mr. McCleavy - father to Hal, husband to the late Mrs McCleavy

Fay - a nurse, visiting the home, who has been married seven times and each of her husbands has died under strange circumstances

Inspector Truscott - the brilliant detective come to solve the case

Meadows - a police officer assisting Inspector Truscott

The characters in this play are uncomplicated, but each reveals sides of themselves meant to show them as hypocrites (except for the "real" criminals: Hal and Dennis). Meadows, a minor character, is meant mainly to help show the corruption and basic ineptitude of the police force, but Truscott does most of the heavy lifting in that regard.

The only character without lines is the corpse (Mrs. McCleavy), but her role is an important one and in some productions she is played by an actor. Since the corpse is much abused, the role is better suited to a live person rather than a dummy stand-in, so the audience gets the full impact of the body being treated disrespectfully.

Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 385

Fay McMahon

Fay McMahon, a nurse to Mrs. Mary McLeavy, who died three days before the action of the play. Fay is a femme fatale, a mercenary who will do anything for money. She convinced Mrs. McLeavy to change her will, leaving everything to Fay. Her seven husbands in the past decade all died violently, and she has poisoned her patient. When she learns that Hal and Dennis have robbed a bank, she demands a third of the spoils and decides to marry Dennis now that he is rich.

McLeavy

McLeavy, Fay’s employer, a devout Catholic. A self-proclaimed good man, he insists that his wife was precious to him, but he has devoted most of his attention to his roses. He at first refuses to believe that his son is a bank robber, then wants to disown him, and finally is willing to testify against him. He respects authority and tries to cooperate with Truscott’s investigation, only to be arrested for making derogatory remarks about the police.

Hal McLeavy

Hal...