AustLit

A one-act satire on censorship.

A magistrate and a law enforcer summon a French, a Greek and a Chinese author to court for their blasphemy against the god of respectability. As the magistrate attempts to read aloud damning extracts from their work, he unknowingly selects passages that are not theirs, but are the work of writers he reveres – easily confusing them on the strength of their similarity. Finally, the three authors reveal themselves to be none other than the long deceased but ever-living Moliére, Socrates and Confucius, and the magistrate and policemen are exposed as lifeless marionettes.

Characters

HUMBUG – a magistrate

FORCE – a policeman

A FRENCH AUTHOR

A GREEK AUTHOR

A CHINESE AUTHOR