Experienced actors despair over ‘childish’ advice about stage blood in Globe performance of Shakespeare’s Othello
- Sir Richard Eyre described the trigger warnings as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘infantile’
Shakespeare’s Globe Theater has been criticized for warning audiences that the current production of Othello contains ‘stage blood’ and ‘prop guns and knives’.
Some of the biggest names in British theater were in the news last night after the London venue issued a lengthy trigger warning for the modern version of the Bard’s tale of jealousy, betrayal and murder.
The Globe’s guidelines address “issues of domestic violence, misogyny, anti-Black racism, offensive language, violence, including murder, references to suicide, and scenes of a sexual nature.” It also warns that the production uses “stage blood and weapons (including prop guns, tasers, knives and batons), flashing lights and loud gunshots.”
Some of the biggest names in British theater were in action last night after the theater produced a trigger warning for Othello
Othello – which tells the story of the rivalry between the eponymous Moorish military commander and his scheming ‘friend’ Iago – ends with the title character, consumed by jealousy, killing his beloved wife Desdemona.
The Globe’s guidelines highlight “issues of domestic violence, misogyny, anti-Black racism, offensive language, violence, including murder, references to suicide and scenes of a sexual nature.”
Othello – which tells the story of the rivalry between the eponymous Moorish military commander and his scheming ‘friend’ Iago – ends with the title character, consumed by jealousy, killing his beloved wife Desdemona. It is currently playing at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
Sir Richard Eyre, former director of the National Theatre, described the warnings as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘infantile’.
Dame Janet Suzman, who starred in a 1979 production of The Duchess Of Malfi and directed a production of Othello ten years later, said: ‘If grown-up people take the trouble to spend their good money on tickets to go to the theatre, go, they are too. obviously willing to pay for the experience of a work of the imagination.
‘People who like horror films know what to expect. The same goes for the theater!’
Dame Maureen Lipman said: ‘Is this a completely different tribe to the people who listen to ‘killer rap’, watch horror films and play video games?’
A spokesperson for Shakespeare’s Globe declined to comment.