Punjab stage shows bill: up to 6 months' jail and Rs 1 million fine for unlicensed theatre

Organising a stage play in Punjab without a licence could soon mean up to six months in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 million. The Punjab Assembly's Standing Committee on Information and Culture has approved the Punjab Dramatic and Theatrical Performances Bill 2026, ProPakistani reported on Thursday. The bill now goes to the full assembly.

It would replace the Dramatic Performances Act of 1876, a colonial-era law that is nearly 150 years old, and would cover every theatrical show at a public venue, in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan or any other city in the province.

What the bill would require

• A licence for every show: organisers must get one from the provincial information and culture secretary before any performance at a public venue.
• Script approval: every script goes to a Script Review Committee and needs sign-off from the executive director of the Punjab Council of the Arts.
• Registration for everyone on stage and behind it: artists, directors, crew and make-up artists must register. Unregistered people could not take part.
• Monitoring: district monitoring teams and censorship committees could inspect dress rehearsals and watch shows live or on recorded feeds, to stop "vulgarity, defamation, anti-state material and sectarian content".
• Recordings: organisers must keep unedited audio and video of every performance for at least 30 days.
• Fees: new licensing fees, script review charges and artist registration fees. The amounts are not yet public.

The penalties

Anyone affected by an official decision could appeal through administrative channels, up to the Punjab chief secretary.

What it means for theatre-goers and performers

For audiences, licensed shows would carry on as before. For the people who make them, the bill adds paperwork and cost at every step, from a script that must be cleared before it is staged to a registration that every actor, dancer, director and make-up artist would need. The monitoring powers, including recorded feeds kept for 30 days, would give district teams evidence to act on after a show rather than only during it.

What happens next

The committee's approval is a step, not the end. The bill still has to be debated and passed by the Punjab Assembly and signed by the governor before it becomes law, and the fee amounts will be set afterwards.