While the author’s insistence on all-male cast is obviously outdated in a “smoking on an airplane” fashion, I would still be inclined to file it under ‘licencia

While the author’s insistence on all-male cast is obviously outdated in a “smoking on an airplane” fashion, I would still be inclined to file it under ‘licencia poetica’, and view it as artistically legitimate, no matter what we think. Arguably, this clear articulation of author’s will could be viewed as an integral part of the work of art. As much as I think that it should be subject to artistic reinterpretation (like all female cast), and that the estate is being stupidly restrictive in its legal persecution of artistic purity, I believe the opposite should be allowed too. A director should be allowed enough artistic liberty to do a play with all-male cast (as well as all-female, all-trans, all-whatever-your-pronoun-may-be). University restricting the artistic liberty into a (forcefully diverse) mould is equally stupid as the estate suing any departure from the author’s canon. Nevertheless, the whole situation is delightfully bizarre. Love it.