An Epic Courtroom Drama

Audiences interested in legal history and provocative, discussion-starting theatre won't want to miss The People Versus Lenny Bruce. Written by Susan Charlotte and directed by Antony Marsellis, the piece draws on the real trial and its legal context, taking Bruce's 1964 New York obscenity trial and the wider First Amendment issues it raised and dramatising them for the stage.

What's The Story?

Following the trial, former CIA agent and prosecution witness Herbert S. Ruhe reflected: “We picked him out of all the performers. I know he was obscene...yet, in a way, I felt he had to be convicted.”

More than sixty years later, debates around free speech and expression remain as relevant as ever. When the freedom to speak openly comes under scrutiny, one response is simple: don’t watch what you say - watch great theatre.