Applause Books. Applause Theatre amp Cinema Books is proud to announce the publication of the first collected anthology of gay and lesbian plays from the entire span of the twentieth century sure to find wide acceptance by general readers and to be studied on campuses around the world. Among the ten plays three are completely out of print. Included are The God of Venegeance 1918 by Sholom Ash the first play to introduce lesbian characters to an Englishlanguage audience Lillian Hellmans classic The Childrens Hour 1933 initially banned in London and passed over for the Pulitzer Prize because of its subject matter and Oscar Wilde 1938 by Leslie and Sewell Stokes a major awardwinning success that starred Robert Morley. More recent plays include Mart Crowleys The Boys in the Band 1968 the first hit out gay play that was the most realistic and groundbreaking portrayal of gays on stage up to that time Martin Shermans Bent 1978 which daringly focused on the love between two Nazi concentration camp inmates and starred Richard Gere William Hoffmans As Is 1985 which was one of the first plays to deal with the AIDS crisis and earned three Tony Award nominations and Terrence McNallys Love Valour Compassion 1994 which starred Nathan Lane and won the Tony Award for Best Play. The other plays are Edouard Bourdets The Captive 1926 Ruth and Augustus Goetzs The Immoralist 1954 and Frank Marcus The Killing of Sister George 1967. Forbidden Acts includes a broad range of theatrical genres drama tragedy romance comedy and farce. They remain vibrant and relevant today as a testament of arts ability to persevere in the face of oppression.