Characters
Last Updated on September 5, 2023, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 216
Loot is a play and has a short cast of characters. They include:
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.
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