Theatres Act 1968

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1968 c. 54
(1) The (2) F51F35In granting, renewing or transferring any licence under this Act for the use of any premises for the public performance of plays or in varying any of the terms, conditions or restrictions on or subject to which any such licence is held, the licensing authority shall not have power to impose any term, condition or restriction as to the nature of the plays which may be performed under the licence or as to the manner of performing plays thereunder:Provided that nothing in this subsection shall prevent a licensing authority from imposing any term, condition or restriction which they consider necessary in the interests of physical safety or health or any condition regulating or prohibiting the giving of an exhibition, demonstration or performance of hypnotism within the meaning of the M2Hypnotism Act 1952.(1) For the purposes of this section a performance of a play shall be deemed to be obscene if, taken as a whole, its effect was such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who were likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to attend it.on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £400 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months;on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.(3) A prosecution on indictment for an offence under this section shall not be commenced more than two years after the commission of the offence.for an offence at common law where it is of the essence of the offence that the performance or, as the case may be, what was said or done was obscene, indecent, offensive, disgusting or injurious to morality; or. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under section 2 of this Act if it is proved that the giving of the performance in question was justified as being for the public good on the ground that it was in the interests of drama, opera, ballet or any other art, or of literature or learning.(2) It is hereby declared that the opinion of experts as to the artistic, literary or other merits of a performance of a play may be admitted in any proceedings for an offence under section 2 of this Act either to establish or negative the said ground.(1) For the purposes of the law of libel and slander (2) The foregoing subsection shall apply for the purposes of section 3 (slander of title, etc.) of the Defamation Act 1952 as it applies for the purposes of the law of libel and slander.(3) In this section “words” includes pictures, visual images, gestures and other methods of signifying meaning.(4) This section shall not apply to Scotland.he did so with intent to provoke a breach of the peace; orthe performance, taken as a whole, was likely to occasion a breach of the peace.(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable— F4on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F5level 5 on the standard scaleor to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.(1) Nothing in sections 2 to 4 of this Act shall apply in relation to a performance of a play given on a domestic occasion in a private dwelling.rehearsal; ora record or cinematograph film to be made

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