The Tables Turned, or Nupkins Awakened (1887) is a play by William Morris, set in a courtroom where the British justice system is satirized. The play opens with Mr. Justice Nupkins presiding over unjust trials, favoring the wealthy while condemning the poor. When Mary Pinch, a poor woman wrongly accused of stealing bread, is sentenced to hard labor, her plight highlights the systemic inequalities of the time. The play progresses to a socialist uprising led by an ensign, who disrupts the court and announces the revolution. Act II shows the new socialist society, where resources are shared equally and the need for judges and jails is eliminated. Morris uses the play to advocate for a utopian, classless society, critiquing economic disparity and injustice.
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