Theatre
Victor Hugo's 1832 play Le roi s'amuse was banned after one performance. Though it depicts the escapades of Francis I of France, censors of the time believed that it also contained insulting references to King Louis-Philippe. Hugo brought a suit to permit the performance of the play, which he lost but it propelled him into celebrity as a defender of freedom of speech.
Read more about this topic: Censorship In France
Famous quotes containing the word theatre:
“This visible world is wonderfully to be delighted in, and highly to be esteemed, because it is the theatre of God’s righteous Kingdom.”
—Thomas Traherne (1636–1674)
“People fall out of windows, trees tumble down,
Summer is changed to winter, the young grow old
The air is full of children, statues, roofs
And snow. The theatre is spinning round,
Colliding with deaf-mute churches and optical trains.
The most massive sopranos are singing songs of scales.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air: the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner.”
—Eleonora Duse (1858–1924)