Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde
Encyclopedia
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde is a 1997 play
written by Moisés Kaufman
. It deals with Oscar Wilde
's three trials on the matter of his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas
, which led to charges of "committing acts of gross indecency
with other male persons". (The first trial was a civil suit brought against Douglas's father by Wilde himself; the second and third were on the criminal charges against Wilde, with the second reaching no verdict and the third resulting in a conviction and sentence to hard labour.) The play uses real quotes and transcripts of the three trials.
at the Greenwich House, and received two critically acclaimed stagings in Los Angeles
: one at the Mark Taper Forum
in 1998 and the other by director Susan Lee at the Eclectic Theatre in 2009.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
written by Moisés Kaufman
Moisés Kaufman
Moisés Kaufman is a playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project. He is the author of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, 33 Variations and is perhaps best known for writing The Laramie Project with other members of Tectonic Theater Project...
. It deals with Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's three trials on the matter of his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas , nicknamed Bosie, was a British author, poet and translator, better known as the intimate friend and lover of the writer Oscar Wilde...
, which led to charges of "committing acts of gross indecency
Sodomy law
A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed unnatural. It also has a range of similar euphemisms...
with other male persons". (The first trial was a civil suit brought against Douglas's father by Wilde himself; the second and third were on the criminal charges against Wilde, with the second reaching no verdict and the third resulting in a conviction and sentence to hard labour.) The play uses real quotes and transcripts of the three trials.
Performances
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde was staged Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Greenwich House, and received two critically acclaimed stagings in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
: one at the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
in 1998 and the other by director Susan Lee at the Eclectic Theatre in 2009.