Drama, opera, ballet, circuses, concerts, and puppet-shows: down the
years, all these species of live entertainment faced innumerable
difficulties in Ireland. The challenges that are the focus in this
unusual study are those that touched on matters of law. Assorted venues
encountered episodes of censorship and of riot. Safety of buildings,
performers' contracts, dramatic authors' performing rights, liquor
licensing all merit attention too, as, indeed, necessarily must the
issue of the lawfulness of any 'theatrical' activity itself, given the
ill-defined powers of the Irish Master of the Revels (1638-1830) and the
controls exerciseable under the Dublin Stage Regulation Act (1786-1997).
(Series: Irish Legal History Society - Vol. 24) [Subject: Irish
Studies, Legal History, Drama]