German police investigate XXX play

This file photo shows Sonia Segura (L) as Eugenie and Pedro Gutierrez (R) as Dolmance reenacting a scene from the play 'XXX' at the Riverside Studios in London

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a Spanish theatre troupe under obscenity laws after displays of graphic sex and bestiality in a controversial play called "XXX", say authorities.


An outraged woman in the audience alerted police after witnessing scenes of urination and simulated rape and oral sex, and a video showing scenes of bestiality at the play's opening night in the northern city of Hamburg.


"We respect the right to freedom of artistic expression. But where the law may have been broken we have to investigate," Hamburg police spokesman Ralf Kunz said. "We will decide whether the play should be banned."


The piece by Catalan group "La Fura dels Baus" is billed as a modern theatrical response to the porn industry, and based on a 1795 text by infamous French playwright the Marquis de Sade.


The show's producers have said the piece is designed to expose society's hypocritical attitudes to sex.