I have not followed the discussion and court case surrounding the play Stitching but I am interested in what defines the word 'public'.

What provoked this thought was the phrase: "It is unacceptable in a democratic society that a person is permitted to swear or utter vulgar words in public," in the analysis of July 4 .

If individuals have chosen to buy a ticket to enter a room in order to see a play or hear a singer or witness a performance, is that room then a public space? To my mind, I would say not.

The performance is being held behind closed doors, not in view of the general 'public', and the audience members have paid to see or hear that performance.

If those people are also old enough in society's eyes to be individually responsible and capable of making that decision (to buy a ticket), then why is it necessary to remove the responsibility of that decision from those people by disallowing the performance?

Other areas of the law that govern our society govern the actions that take place in private as well as public spaces.

I find this area of the debate interesting and I believe that for our society to grow, there needs to be greater development in individual responsibility. Restricting choice does not promote that.