Labels:text | screenshot OCR: With these words, on September 2, 1642, the Puritan-controlled British Parliament outlawed the production of plays in England. Ostensibly enacted due to the threat of Civil War, the Lords and Commons made their motivations slightly clearer in a 1647 Ordinance which declared theater "the occasion of many and sundry great vices and disorders. " Constables had authority to dismantle playhouses, publicly whip practicing actors, confiscate box office-monies, and fine theater audiences. Although illegal drama was still performed surreptitiously outside London, and inside the private homes of nobility, performances were not made legal again until 1660, when Charles II resumed his throne. Oh, and as for the Puritans' theories that prayer instead of plays would bring peace to the lan? Guess what -- ...
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