 Oscar Wilde (qv) wrote the original play in French in 1891. An  English translation was made and was in rehearsal in 1894, but was  banned by officials on the basis that it was illegal to depict  Biblical characters on the stage. Its first live performance was in  Paris, France in 1896 (Wilde was jailed from 1895 to 1897). It was  not performed in England until 1931.