Living Theatre faced felony prosecutions and eviction as avant-garde venues were shut down

Evidence

In late January, a Federal grand jury had indicted the Becks on eleven felony counts—each carrying a maximum sentence of three years and a $5,000 fine—alleging them to have impeded federal agents in the pursuit of their duties when the Living Theatre was closed in October. A few weeks later, the owner of the Midway Theater, where the Living had relocated, forced them to again close The Brig. Jonas Mekas got wind of the situation and managed to document a last performance, starting Sunday night, February 16, and extending into Monday morning. — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 501

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Reading purpose test case: this is the institutional and legal pressure side of the material conditions equation — repression concentrated the avant-garde.