Judi Dench has become the latest actor to rail against trigger warnings in the theatre, telling people to stay at home if they are sensitive.
The Oscar-winning actress said she was surprised to learn that audiences were routinely being warned about potentially distressing content, including abuse, violence, and loud noises.
“Do they do that?” Dench told the UK’s Radio Times: “It must be a pretty long trigger warning before King Lear or Titus Andronicus.”
She added: “I can see why they exist, but if you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre, because you could be very shocked. Where is the surprise of seeing and understanding it in your own way?”
Dench, whose stage credits include Lady Macbeth, echoed the sentiments of others when noting her discomfort with trigger warnings.
Ralph Fiennes said theatregoers had “gone soft” in an interview with the BBC earlier this year. “The impact of theatre should be that you’re shocked, and should be that you’re disturbed, I don’t think you should be prepared for these things,” Fiennes said. “It’s the shock, it’s the unexpected, that’s what makes an act of theatre so exciting.”
Sir Ian McKellen criticized the use of trigger warnings in theatres before the launch of a production of Frank and Percy at London’s The Other Palace. “I think it’s ludicrous,” he said. “I quite like to be surprised by loud noises and outrageous behavior on stage.”
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