Mr Cecil told the BBC he would not stage the play again, because cuts ordered by the Media Council would "disembowel" the production, he said.

BBC: David Cecil: Uganda 'drops gay play charges'

But a hunting ban may enthuse supporters in marginal suburban seats, where foxes can be portrayed as harmless furry animals, rather than (as the hunters have it) feral vermin that disembowel lambs.

ECONOMIST: Fox-hunting

Nowadays, people just jump out of the dark all of a sudden and screech (cheap scare) or creatively disembowel screeching second-string actors (more gross than actually frightening.) Couple that with a veneer of macho stylishness, and you've got yourself a relative facsimile of a motion picture.

CNN: Review: 'John Carpenter's Vampires' stinks worse than garlic