The Lord Chamberlain, "The Licensing Act"
- Artist/Author/Producer: The State
- Confronting Bodies: writers
- Dates of action: 1737
- Location: England
- Description of the Art Work
- "The Licensing Act," 1737: By the "The Licensing Act" of this year the
Lord Chamberlain was empowered to license plays, giving rise to the
popular phrase "legitimate theater."
- Description of incident
- 1737, England: The history of theater censorship is itself long and
complicated, and extends at least from medieval Europe down to the
present. But the particular function of the Lord Chamberlain led to many
clashes over works that have since become classics.
- Results of incident
- 1968, England: The power of the Lord Chamberlain to license plays was
revoked by parliament.
Source: Banned Books 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D., by Anne Lyon Haight, and Chandler B.
Grannis, R.R. Bowker Co, 1978.
