Waiting for Godot

Medium: Theater, Literature

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Artist: Samuel Beckett

Confronting Bodies: the Lord Chamberlain

Dates of Action: 1938

Location: England

Description of Artwork: Beckett's most famous play, Waiting for Godot, has been accused of blasphemy and has been challenged for its language.

The Incident: Beckett was forced to change numerous words and scenes in Waiting for Godot. The words arse, bastard and balls were removed, in addition to scenes that were considered blasphemous by the Lord Chamberlain.

Results of Incident: In 1967 the Lord Chamberlain lost censorship duties and, having earned international recognition, Beckett did not suffer from further censorship.

Source: Censorship, A World Encyclopedia, ed. D. Jones