Productions of famed Shakespeare plays such as Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, have recently been given “content guidance” trigger warnings. These advance notices caution viewers about depictions of suicide, violence, war, and “misogynoir references” — a newspeak term fusing misogyny and ‘racism’ against Blacks.
Esteemed Shakespearean actors Ralph Fiennes and Ian McKellen slammed the move. “There are very disturbing scenes in Macbeth, terrible murders and things, but I think the impact of theatre is that you should be shocked and you should be disturbed,” said Fiennes. “I don’t think you should be prepared for these things, and when I was young, we never had trigger warnings before a show.”
“Outside theaters and in the lobbies… the audience is warned ‘there is a loud noise and at one point, there are flashing lights, there is reference to smoking, there is reference to bereavement,’” noted McKellen. “I think it’s ludicrous, myself, yes, absolutely. I quite like to be surprised by loud noises and outrageous behavior on stage,” he added.
A recent study funded by the British government with nearly £1 million (~$1.26 million) of taxpayer money also asserted that Shakespeare has been “disproportionately represented,” enabling the dominance of “white, able-bodied, heterosexual, cisgender male narratives.”
