Two plays, "Tom Thumb" and "The Author's Farce," open in the Warner Bentley Theater tonight in a double bill that focuses on the pros and cons of censorship of art.
The plays, written by 18th century playwright Henry Fielding, contain political satire that directly contributed to the enactment of the 1737 British Licensing Act, which invoked stifling standards of government approval on drama.
"The more things change the more they stay the same," stated the director Sam Abel, a professor of drama. "Although censorship today may not be as overt as the licensing act there are many parallels just the same."
"The Author's Farce" will be set and acted in the authentic classical style of the period, utilizing stylized gestures to portray emotions and reactions and to comically depict the author's financial difficulties after the act took effect.
"Tom Thumb," on the other hand, set in modern-day America, portrays contemporary political figures ranging from Oliver North and Dan Quayle to Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton.
"By bringing the contemporary element into the play, we will show how what seems like harmless poking fun can in fact be dangerous," Abel said.
The oppressive 1737 act is claimed to have directly influenced and curbed the writings of such eminents as Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, and continued to stifle playwrights until its repeal in 1968.
"Tom Jones," Fielding's most famous novel that turned into a comedic film classic in the '60s, was itself a forced product of the licensing act that effectively kept his plays off the English stage for the rest of his life and practically drove him into bankruptcy.
The two plays are being presented in conjunction with the Hood Museum exhibit, "James Gillray: Eighteenth Century Master of Caricature" and will be accompanied by a reading of "The Art of Success" on Tuesday Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. in the Bentley. The play was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1986 and also focuses on the issue of censorship.
Performances of "Tom Thumb" and "The Author's Farce" will run in the Bentley tonight at 8 p.m. through Saturday, and Feb. 23 to 26. Tickets are $2 for undergrads and $5 for graduates.
