Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde

The year 2000 will mark the 100th anniversary of playwright and social philosopher Oscar Wilde's death. He is recognized for his wit and wisdom as well as for the tragedy of his life. Wilde is perhaps the most famous person to be punished by the state for committing the crime of gay sexual activity. After three trials Wilde was sentenced to several years of hard labor for making love with another man. Playwright Moises Kaufman has taken the trial transcripts and fashioned a brilliant play by shortening and combining them into a concise narrative. Gross Indecency gives the history of Wilde's life and crimes, and allows us to see how the social forces of homophobia and hatred in law, religion, and custom set the stage to send Wilde to prison.