Steve Martin defends his banned play

The comic actor and writer Steve Martin has stepped in to stop a school production of one his plays being banned after the parents of the child performers complained about its adult themes. The 1993 play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, depicts a meeting between Picasso and Albert Einstein in a Parisian bar in which they get into a discussion about the superior merits of art or science. It was to be staged by the pupils of the Grande High School in Oregon but rehearsals were stopped after the head teacher received a petition signed by 137 parents and community members who felt the content was a little rich for young ears.

In response, Martin has offered to stump up some of the cash for the play to be performed off-campus, claiming that he was supporting the production because he did not want his play "acquiring a reputation it does not deserve".

In a letter to the La Grande Observer, Martin said that while he understood parents might feel uncomfortable with certain lines, the students themselves knew the "questionable behaviour sometimes evident in the play is not endorsed".

"The play has been performed, without incident, all over the world by professional and amateur companies, including many high schools," he said. And contrary to the protests, the play was not about "people drinking in bars and treating women as sex objects... With apologies to William Shakespeare, this is like calling Hamlet a play about a castle".

Martin is best known internationally for his film performances – including some he’d probably rather forget, like his recent portrayal of Inspector Clouseau in Pink Panther 2, which received miserable reviews. But he has always written too, including poetry, plays, regular articles for the New Yorker and a well-received 2007 biography, Born Standing Up. ·