Theatregoers have been issued a trigger warning over William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet containing ‘coercive behaviour’.
Those visiting London‘s National Theatre later this year to watch director Robert Hastie’s adaptation of the iconic play have also been told to prepare themselves for themes such as suicide as well as depictions of madness and violence.
The epic play, which is a cornerstone of English literature, centres around Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, and his mad descent after his father is murdered by his uncle Claudius, who usurps the throne and marries Hamlet’s mother.
It ends with a fatal duel that sees most of the principal characters – including the Prince himself – dead by the final curtain, prompting the theatre to issue a series of warnings.
Under the play’s ‘suitablity’ a note reads: ‘This production contains themes of grief and death, including suicide and the loss of a parent, depictions of madness, violence, and coercive behaviour.’
The show is set to begin with previews beginning on Monday, September 25 until Friday, September 30 – with tickets currently fetching anywhere between £20 and £64 for those dates.
It will then run until November 22 out of the South Bank theatre in the English capital and stars Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor, Hiran Abeysekara, as the Danish prince.
However, the trigger warnings attached to the show have sparked debate over whether they are necessary for a 400-year-old Shakespearian tragedy which is widely taught in schools.
Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor, Hiran Abeysekara, stars as Hamlet in the upcoming showings
William Shakespeare’s epic play is a cornerstone of English literature and centres around the Prince of Denmark’s mad descent following his father being murdered
Those visiting London’s National Theatre later this year have been issued a trigger warning over the play containing ‘coercive behaviour’
Previously speaking to the Daily Mail about the warnings, historian and author Roy Schwartz said it creates an unsustainable precedent.
He said: ‘A trigger warning is meant to alert that something contains potentially distressing material. It’s gratuitous to include it in something that’s well-known to have mature subject matter, and it’s frankly ridiculous to include it in a classic like Hamlet.
‘For that matter, why not have a trigger warning in every history book? Every Bible and Sunday sermon? Coddling audiences against reality only serves to infantilise culture.
‘A trigger warning is fair when the audience might not expect something ‘triggering,’ not in the most famous play in history.’
Agreeing with Mr Schwartz, writer Simon Evans added that trigger warnings are ‘tiresome, infantilising and ultimately counterproductive’ – a belief he said is supported by research and ‘common sense’.
Mr Evans continued: ‘To attach one to one of the supreme works of art in the western canon, a play that contains the single most quoted lines in the language, let alone on the subject of ‘self-slaughter’, is risible in the extreme.
‘Let all theatres bookshops and cinemas carry a single “trigger warning” henceforth. “Take Heed! – all human life is here. Proceed at your own peril”.’
The Daily Mail has approached the National Theatre for comment.
