Forbidden Acts : Pioneering Gay & Lesbian Plays of the 20th Century

Applause Theatre & Cinema Books is proud to announce the publication of the first collected anthology of gay and lesbian plays from the entire span of the twentieth century sure to find wide acceptance by general readers and to be studied on campuses around the world.

Among the ten plays three are completely out of print.THIncluded are EThe God of VenegeanceE (1918) by Sholom Ash the first play to introduce lesbian characters to an English-language audience; Lillian Hellman's classic EThe Children's HourE (1933) initially banned in London and passed over for the Pulitzer Prize because of its subject matter; and EOscar WildeE (1938) by Leslie and Sewell Stokes a major award-winning success that starred Robert Morley.THMore recent plays include Mart Crowley's EThe Boys in the BandE (1968) the first hit out gay play that was the most realistic and groundbreaking portrayal of gays on stage up to that time; Martin Sherman's EBentE (1978) which daringly focused on the love between two Nazi concentration camp inmates and starred Richard Gere; William Hoffman's EAs IsE (1985) which was one of the first plays to deal with the AIDS crisis and earned three Tony Award nominations; and Terrence McNally's ELove!

Valour! Compassion!E (1994) which starred Nathan Lane and won the Tony Award for Best Play.THThe other plays are Edouard Bourdet's EThe CaptiveE (1926) Ruth and Augustus Goetz's EThe ImmoralistE (1954) and Frank Marcus' EThe Killing of Sister GeorgeE (1967).

EForbidden ActsE includes a broad range of theatrical genres: drama tragedy romance comedy and farce.

They remain vibrant and relevant today as a testament of art's ability to persevere in the face of oppression.