Shopping and F***ing, Lyric Hammersmith
Playwright Mark Ravenhill's 1996 Royal Court debut was not the decade's most shocking piece of theatre, but its title was, and is, certainly the one that troubles producers and publicists the most. Under a Victorian law - the Indecent Advertisements Act 1889, amended by the Indecent Displays (Control) Act 1981 - the word "fuck" is banned from public display. Originally drafted to stamp out explicit adverts by prostit…