1964: Last Exit to Brooklyn by American novelist Hubert Selby is published. A London court will convict Selby of obscenity but he will win a reversal on appeal Entertaining Mr. Sloane, like all of Orton's unconventional and purposely provocative plays, was often charged with being obscene, and though his plays were never brought to court they were all subject to the censorship of the Lord Chamberlain.

Today: The Theatres Act of 1968 abolished the Lord Chamberlain's role as official censor for stage plays and allowed a much more explicit treatment of sexuality on stage. In today's climate of increased sexual openness, Orton's plays might still seem shocking to some but would no longer be considered obscene except by a small minority .

1964: Playwright John Osborne's Inadmissible Evidence is produced at London's Royal Court Theatre. In 1956, Osborne's Look Back in Anger had revolutionized British theatre, and though by...