About the Show

A bold courtroom battle to free Ulysses challenges censorship and transforms literature.

In 1933, James Joyce’s Ulysses has been banned in the United States for a decade due to its explicit content. Determined to challenge the country’s strict obscenity laws, a driven young publisher joins forces with an ambitious lawyer to take on the censors. As they fight to prove the novel’s literary merit, the case becomes more than just a legal battle—it’s a clash of ideals, art, and morality.

The United States vs Ulysses is a provocative courtroom drama based on the real-life trial that shattered American censorship laws and cemented Joyce’s place as a literary icon.

Critic Reviews (6)

"The United States vs Ulysses...is as insightful as it is funny—and it’s chillingly resonant in our current climate.”
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In terms of its artifice, The United States vs. Ulysses would benefit from more explicit ground rules."
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"a multi-layered play about a seminal case concerning censorship in publishing"
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"it’s good to be reminded of the case for free speech and freedom to read, and hear the argument made so plainly that artistic merits should trump the impulse to “protect” young minds"
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"elucidates the legal arguments, illuminates the novel, playful but too inventive"
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An imaginative, fresh-mouthed account of one of literary moderism's most signifiant legal controntations.
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Cast and creative team