what was the act?

what prompted its passing?

Neeldarpan
cha and gaekwad
gajanand
surendra binodini
plays which were banned at the time
what effect did the act have?
shifting to mythological plays
act still effective after independence
plays banned since indepence
plays banned recently and why

The dramatic performances act which was passed in 1876, enabled the
British Government to officially prevent the staging of plays which were
"scandalous, defamatory, seditious or obscene" in nature. The Act was a
means for the British Government to control dissent in a colonized society
which was rapidly getting involved in the throes of Nationalism. The native
population had begun to express its dissatisfaction with the Imperial rule
though its theatre and this alarmed the Britsh Government. With the
introduction of the Dramatic Performances Act in March 1876, plays which
inspired Nationalistic ideals and brought the failings of the British
Govenrment to the attention of the audiences were banned on grounds of
obscenity and sedition. The native theatres, however, resorted to other
covert means of performing their protest and took to staging plays based on
mythological themes which secretly propagated Nationalistic ideals.
Plays of protest such as Dinabandhu Mitra's Neeldarpan (1860), Upendra
Nath Das's Surendra-Binodini (1875) , Gaekwar Durpan (The Mirror of Baroda,
1875) , Gajadananda Prahasa(Gajadananda and the Prince, 1875) , and
Dakshina Charan Chattopadhyay's Chakar Durpan (The Tea Planters' Mirror,

1875) instigated the passing of the Dramatic Performances Control Act in

1876.
In 1860, Reverend James Long published a translation of Neeldarpan. The
play put forth the plight of ryots and their subjugation in the hands of the
British indigo planters. The indigo planters filed a lawsuit against Reverend
Long for deliberately maligning the indigo planters. The long drawn out trial
after which Reverend Long was imprisoned for one month and fined, only
served to bring the play to the notice of both the government and the native
intelligentia.
Upendra Nath Das's Sure:ndra-Binodini showed
a European magistrate sexually assaulting his maid, who jumps out of the
window to save her honor. Gae:kwar Durpan represented the farcical trial of
Malhar Rao, gae:kwar of Baroda, who was forced to abdicate his throne in
1875 on trumped-up charges of attempting to poison Colonel Phayre, a
British resident of Baroda. And Gajadananda Prahasan attacked the visit of
the Prince of Wales to the house of an esteemed Bengali gentleman and his
visit to the zenana. The plays incurred the wrath of British authorities ,
whose reaction resulted in various forms of censorship. Charges of
"obscenity"
constituted the ban on Sure:ndra-Binodini, following the production of
which the government arrested, tried, and sentenced the author and director
to a one-month prison term under sections 292 and 294 of the Indian
Penal Code.3 A performance of Gajadananda Prahasan resulted in the arrest
of managers of the Great National Theatre. And spectators disrupted a
performance
of Nil Darpan at Lucknow in 1875.
Upendranath Das's Surendra Binodini was banned on the charges of
obscenity since it showed a native woman being assaulted by an European
magistrate. The