Sapho (play)

The play was not an exceptional success but the incident is considered a notable step in the transformation of American society's attitudes regarding gender roles and public depictions of sex in the 20th century.

The play remained controversial, with municipal authorities in some cities continuing to ban performances entirely or insisting on changes in dialogue or costume.

[7] Actors playing Jean Gaussin in the Nethersole productions included Hamilton Revelle (February through May 1900), G. Harrison Hunter (November 1900, and 1910), Slaine Mills (1905),[1][8] and Winnington Barnes (1913).

Some of the outcry was fuelled by yellow journalism, with trial witnesses admitting their tickets had been provided by New York World reporters.

[10] New York District Attorney Asa Bird Gardiner ordered Nethersole, her co-star, and two managers arrested on February 21,[11] and police closed the theatre on March 5.

[1] The Sapho indecency trial is a well-known step in the transition from the era of Victorian morality as it existed in America, particularly as regards attitudes toward onstage depictions of gender, intimacy and sex.