Morality Has No Place in Art
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Proposing the motion is Ian Rickson, Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre and Lucy Winkett, the first woman residentiary canon of St Paul's Cathedral. Opposing the motion is Anthony Neilson, playwright and director alongside Richard Noble, lecturer at Goldsmith's College. The journalist Patrick Marmion will chair the meeting. The motion follows Oscar Wilde's dictum that "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book; books are well written or badly written". The motion seeks to establish whether morality has any part to play in determining or constraining artistic activity. The hour long forum kicks off with drinks at 6pm enabling participants to loosen up. The debate itself starts at 6.30pm sharp. Each of the four speakers will have three minutes to make their cases. After this discussion will be open to the floor. In the interests of variety, members of the audience are allowed to speak for no longer than one minute at a time. Ten minutes before the end ! one speaker from each side will sum up for no more than two minutes. There will then be a vote and the debate will be adjourned to the bar. The debate is organised by Soap Box in association with the Menier Chocolate Factory and theatrevoice.com. Soap Box is a new forum intended to tackle the big issues in society and the arts. The idea has been developed by the journalists Patrick Marmion and Rachel Halliburton. Soap Box will reconvene in September to determine whether Shakespeare has been a millstone round the neck of British theatre.
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