To warn, or not to warn, that is the question…
And the Royal Shakespeare Company has decided that for audiences of its latest production of Hamlet ’tis nobler in the mind not to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous content, but to raise alarms against a sea of triggers, and by forewarning, prepare them.
Hamlet is one of the Bard’s best-known works, but RSC producers have decided a new touring show requires a warning that it contains ‘scenes of an adult nature including death and depictions of grief’.
While the tragedy depicts the turmoil of a young Prince struggling to come to terms with the murder of his father and involves the death of several characters, critics said it was no more in need of a warning ‘than a newspaper’.
Sociology professor Frank Furedi, author of The War Against The Past, was among those who believe something is rotten in the state of wokedom.
He said the content advice ‘indicates that in the cultural world, a trigger warning plays the role of an obligatory ritual. Warning about grief and death is a roundabout way of saying that drama itself should come with a health warning.’
Jeremy Black, author of England In The Age of Shakespeare, said: ‘Hamlet – with its themes of deadly betrayal and its cast including a ghost, an adulterous queen, a murderous brother, a skull et al – captures fundamental questions of life including guilt and responsibility, and is scarcely more in need of a warning than a newspaper.’
The new production reimagines the drama on a sinking ship, with the title role played by Ralph Davis, who recently starred in the BBC drama Film Club opposite Aimee Lou Wood.
Following its 2025 run in Stratford-upon-Avon (pictured), Rupert Goold’s production of Hamlet is going on tour – with trigger warnings of ‘death’ and ‘grief’
The Royal Shakespeare company said they advisory notes can be ‘an invaluable resource’ for some audience members
Its warning also highlights the use of ‘loud music and noises including gunshots, flashing lights and strobe, haze, stage blood, smoking (cigarettes), and violence’.
The RSC said last night: ‘We want everyone to use our advisory notes to make their experience as positive as possible. While the vast majority of audiences won’t need them, for the ones that do, they are an invaluable resource.
‘We would never assume knowledge of a particular play or production from our audiences.’
