OTS2015: Theatre Censorship.... w/ Steve Nicholson

Between the passing of the Theatres Act in 1737 and its abolition in 1968, every new play had to be officially licensed by the Lord Chamberlain before it could be staged in public.  He could ban them entirely without explanation or demand the removal of scenes, speeches or characters.  Writers whose work was refused or rewritten included Lilian Helman, Arthur Miller, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, and Tennessee Williams.