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The Broadway play 'Sex', written by and starring Mae West, was deemed indecent by the New York City Police. West and the cast were arrested, and the play was closed after 41 performances. This event bolstered West's fame and made her a symbol of sexual liberation.

This satirical play by Dario Fo, based on the real-life death of an Italian anarchist, Giuseppe Pinelli, faced censorship in Italy. Its critical portrayal of the police and government led to various attempts to suppress performances.

Lillian Hellman's play faced censorship due to its lesbian content, which was considered scandalous at the time. It was banned in several cities across the USA, but despite (or perhaps because of) the controversy, it became a huge commercial success.

Traditional Vaishnava performances, which depicted themes from the sacred text Bhagavata Purana, faced censorship by Islamic rulers who sought to suppress Hindu culture during their reign in parts of India.

Molière's 'Tartuffe' faced censorship soon after its first performance due to its criticism of religious hypocrisy. It could not be publicly performed until 1669, when the ban was lifted partly because of the king's support.

Joe Orton's play faced censorship due to its darkly comedic portrayal of sexual deviance and violence which clashed with conservative British sensibilities of the time. However, the controversy helped to establish Orton's reputation as a provocative playwright.

While 'Shuffle Along' contributed significantly to the Harlem Renaissance by bringing African-American culture to the mainstream, it occasionally faced censorship or was forced to alter content that white audiences or authorities found objectionable or too provocative.

Peter Weiss' play faced various censorships due to its explicit content and portrayal of violence. The play uses the historical figures Jean-Paul Marat and the Marquis de Sade to explore issues of revolution, power, and sexuality.

Mikhail Bulgakov's play, based on his own novel, was censored in the Soviet Union due to its satirical portrayal of Soviet society. The play remained unpublished until 1966-67, long after Bulgakov's death, and even then, it was released in a censored version. The complete, uncensored version became available only in the 1970s.

Oscar Wilde's 'Salome' was banned in the UK by the Lord Chamberlain's office under the pretext that it depicted biblical characters. This was likely a veiled attempt to suppress the homoerotic subtext of the play. The ban was not lifted until 1931.

The play, co-written by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Ngugi wa Mirii, criticized the post-colonial government in Kenya and was banned shortly after its opening. Thiong'o was detained without trial for over a year as a result.

The FTP was a New Deal program that funded theater and live artistic performances during the Great Depression. It faced censorship and eventual shutdown due to alleged communist influences and the controversial nature of some of its plays.

Athol Fugard's play 'Dimetos', which indirectly dealt with the oppressive policies of apartheid, was censored in South Africa. The government's Bureau for Information considered the play subversive and a threat to the apartheid system.

While not directly related to theater, the mathematical principle of Bayesian Inference has been applied in determining the probability of censorship decisions in various Supreme Court cases. This deals with the likelihood of a case resulting in censorship based on prior outcomes and evidence.

The Licensing Act of 1737 essentially gave the Lord Chamberlain's office the power to censor plays in the UK by requiring playwrights to submit their scripts for approval before performance. This led to a significant limitation on political and social commentary in theater.

Though not censored at the time of its creation, 'Lysistrata' by Aristophanes, with its themes of gender politics and anti-war sentiment, has faced various censorship attempts in more modern times due to its explicit sexual content and political messages.

Although mostly associated with the film industry, the Hays Code also affected theatrical plays through its conservative moral guidelines. Productions that did not conform to the code's standards often faced difficulty in both production and distribution.

The German playwright Bertolt Brecht was called before the HUAC due to suspicions of communist sympathies. While he testified and denied the allegations, he immigrated to East Germany shortly thereafter, partly to avoid further persecution.

During the Spanish Inquisition, theater pieces were subjected to strict censorship, particularly those dealing with religious themes or those that could undermine the authority of the Church and the Monarchy.