The Puritans were a religious group that came to England in the 16th and 17th centuries. They believed that the theater was a place of sin and that it should be banned. They saw the theater as a place where people went to see plays about sex, violence, and other immoral topics. They also believed that the theater was a place where people spent their time instead of attending church.
In 1642, the Puritans gained control of the English government and they immediately banned all forms of theater. The ban on theater lasted for 18 years until the monarchy was restored in 1660.