Trouble for Tyrants

Apart from the burning of books, there’s no greater affront to democracy than the banning of literature deemed provocative due to its content. Given the sordid history of repressive governments that have done exactly that in an attempt to suppress free thought, it ought to be interesting to hear what compelled a ruling hierarchy to keep certain upstart authors from sharing their work with the citizenry.

That opportunity will come when Mad Cat Theatre Company, a provocative multimedia arts group with a distinctly dark focus, partners with Books & Books to present the Banned/New Reading Series. The performances, which feature plays once banned for social and political reasons, begin with a staged reading of Audience, a work by Václav Havel, a well-known dissident, playwright, and future president of Czechoslovakia whose writings frequently landed him in prison by order of his country’s communist dictatorship. This particular offering imagines an insurgent author much like Havel himself who undergoes an internal analysis of his own principles and perspectives.

The presentation is free and will take place Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Books & Books (265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables). Call 305-442-4408.

Wed., Aug. 27, 8 p.m., 2014