Topical 21/5/24

Just when we think we have reached peak ridiculousness, we can still be surprised. Nowadays it is evidently important to warn readers of books and audiences at plays that they may be shocked or traumatised by the content they are about to see. This has meant, among other things that London’s Globe Theatre had to warn the audience that Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ ‘contains depictions of suicide and violence’ before a recent production. The Australian newspaper reports that ‘ The Melbourne Theatre Company warned audiences about a fake moth: “A dead moth is tangled on the clothes of one of the characters … this is a fake moth. No animals are harmed during the making of the production.” Warnings about content are called ‘trigger content.’’ The Melbourne company presenting a musical adaptation of the Australian classic ‘My Brilliant Career’ warns that ‘would-be lover Hal tells protagonist Sybylla she is ‘well shaped and grabs her by the hand and asks for a kiss.” Perth’s Black Swan theatre company warns that in the coming ‘The Seed’ ‘the death of a crayfish and other sea creatures is mentioned…’