Brian Blessed blasts ‘ignorant pigs' who put trigger warnings on Shakespeare plays
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
ACTOR Brian Blessed has howled down trigger warnings on Shakespeare plays — and he didn't bother with poetic Bard-style language by dismissing them as 'b***s'.
The thunderous-voiced thespian labelled theatre bosses 'ignorant pigs'.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
The Sun told of Hamlet audiences being warned of 'coercive behaviour' and 'grief, suicide and mental illness' at London's National Theatre.
There have also been warnings about Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.
Flash Gordon star Brian, 88, has appeared in Henry V, Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing.
He told a sci-fi convention: 'It's bs. It's f***ing Shakespeare.
'He is the greatest writer on the planet.
'People see his plays the length and breadth of this country and they are full of amazing things.
'There are so many ignorant pigs around.'
To hammer his point home, Blessed then quoted a famous line from The Tempest adding: 'Prospero said 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep'.'
It means our short lives are fleeting like dreams and therefore not real - just like the action people see in plays on a stage.
Blessed made a name for himself after appearing in movies Flash Gordon, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as well as on TV shows Z-Cars, Blackadder and I, Claudius.
Terry and June to get woke warning - 80s comedy show
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
10 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Watch as I'm A Celeb star is left horrified as family member gets easy popstar question wrong – do you know the answer?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN I'm A Celebrity star was left mortified when her own cousin got an easy popstar question wrong on Family Face Off. Social media influencer Nella Rose was left beside herself when it became apparent that her cousin did not know the answer to an 'easy' question on the new Channel 4 digital series. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Nella Rose was left fuming when she realised her cousin did not know the answer to an easy question Credit: Channel 4.0 5 Nella could not believe that she knew the answer but her cousin did not Credit: Channel 4.0 5 Afo was asked which popstar had been sent to Space Credit: Channel 4.0 Family Face Off is a modern take on All Star Family Fortunes and is hosted by comedian and online personality, Darkest Man. During the first episode, Love Island star and The Morning After host Indiyah Polack took on I'm A Celeb star and YouTuber Nella Rose and her family in order to be crowned the top celebrity family. But things quickly go awry as Nella is left dumbfounded by her cousin being unable to answer a very easy question. In The Sun's exclusive first-look clip at the digital series, Darkest Man tells Nella that the next question will be based on the topic of Science. Looking at her family playing alongside her, she chooses her cousin Afo to take on the all-important question to bag a point for their team. However, it quickly falls apart when it emerges that he is the only one of their team to not know the answer to the question. Afo is asked: "Jeff Bezos sent an all-female crew into space, including which popstar?" As soon as she heard the question, Nella can be heard making noises as she walked around the set with her hands in the air as it became apparent that she knew the answer - but Afo did not. She can soon be heard jokingly exclaiming at the camera: "Turn that s*** off!" Clearly unaware of the answer, Afo tells the host: "Lady Gaga." I'm A Celeb's Nella Rose returns to YouTube for first time in three years and slams show for 'editing her like a troublemaker' Darkest Man soon clarifies that the answer is in fact Katy Perry as Nella and her fellow teammates all confirm that they would have been able to correctly guess the answer. Would you have been able to correctly identify the answer? Despite this, Nella and her family still lead the competition as they held a total of 5 points to Indiyah's total of three points. Throughout the series, other stars including Chloe Burrows, Angry Ginge and Krept & Konan are all expected to appear. Family Face Off is available to watch on the Channel 4.0 YouTube channel. 5 Nella held her head in her hands Credit: Channel 4.0
Scottish Sun
10 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Game Of Thrones star Kristian Nairn explains why he quit Strictly telling fans ‘sorry I've let you down'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KRISTIAN Nairn has spoken out about his decision to quit Strictly Come Dancing. The Game of Thrones star, famed for playing monotonal friendly aide Hodor, was forced to pull out of the show due to injury. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up His replacement will be confirmed tonight on The One Show – but in the meantime the actor has taken to social media to share his thoughts on what went down. 5 Kristian Nairn has spoken out about his Strictly exit Credit: kristiannairn/Instagram 5 The actor says his 'vitals spiked' due to stress and grief, which became a concern Credit: PA 5 The actor is beloved as Game of Thrones Hodor Speaking to the camera from his home, Kristian revealed he had prepared a written statement, joking it felt "like a wedding speech" but he wanted to be honest about what was going on. "I've been given a wonderful opportunity to become part of the Strictly Come Dancing family, as you may know, but sadly I'm having to withdraw from this year's show," he said. Going into more detail, Kristian noted that he had been dealing with "a high level of stress and a little bit of grief". "I've always been my mother's son and I've always powered through things like this in the past and any other time in my life," he added. "I think I've got a pretty healthy attitude to stuff like this... I thought I did at least. But for the first time it's manifested physically and it's caused a spike in my vitals, in sort of an area of concern." When the spike materialised, Kristian sought medical advice, and was recommended that he withdraw from the show while it was looked after. "I'm a big guy, always have been ever since I've set foot on this earth," he said. "I take my health very seriously and I do see my doctor all the time. "I was checked for the show two weeks before and everything was fine, so he was happy for me to take part." Kristian assured fans he was "ok, under treatment and his doctor isn't concerned" but it will take two-or-three weeks to get him back to normal. Strictly Come Dancing 2025 lineup IN FULL - including Game of Thrones star & famous YouTuber Sadly, this means withdrawing from Strictly, which is known for its gruelling and face-paced routines. "I'm not going to have time for the show - I'm not going to have time for the training," he said. "I also don't want to leave them, you and my other contestants hanging, that's not really fair." Kristina admitted he was "gutted" to be out saying he spent months preparing and "looking forward to taking part". But he thanked Strictly bosses for their "understanding" and support. "So, let's see what happens when I get sorted. I'm gonna be taking it easy for now and I'll be able to return to work very shortly," he continued. "I'm so excited for this but not only for myself but for the people the amazing people from my home of Northern Ireland. "It's always been my honor to in some way and my weird way to Just to be, I'm just to show that I'm from Northern Ireland. "I'm very proud and I'm sorry I've let you down in any way. But I'll continue to do my best." 5 Kristian apologised for 'letting people down' as he spoke to camera Credit: kristiannairn/Instagram
Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
This spin on Shakespeare sets Hamlet at a barbecue – and changes the ending
'Fat Ham is not merely a reinterpretation of Shakespeare; it is a liberation ritual,' concludes an intriguing programme essay for this Pulitzer Prize-wining modern black American spin on Hamlet. Gone is the inevitable arc towards tragedy, predetermined by the expectations of family and society; it is replaced instead by a narrative of self-expression and forging one's own path. James Ijames's work, which came to New York in 2022 and here receives its first European outing, is wildly uneven, intermittently entertaining and occasionally profound. Juicy (Olisa Odele) is our troubled Danish prince figure, a Southern, young, gay, black man who is studying for a degree online and dealing with the ponderous fact that his estranged father has just got 'shanked in prison'. His mother Tedra (Andi Osho), a woman whose default manner of desperate seductiveness hides a deep well of loneliness, has married Juicy's uncle Rev (Sule Rimi) and the family, who are in the pulled pork business, are having a barbecue to celebrate. Oh, and Tedra and Rev have spent all of Juicy's tuition money on having the bathroom redone. It's a ripe set-up, but Ijames's characters are largely stuck in a mode of wild over-exaggeration rather than psychological depth or realism, which limits the drama's possibilities and prevents it from becoming truly affecting. The strongest element is a potent theme of subverting the stereotypes of black masculinity; a dismissive Rev tells Juicy that he is 'soft … and the men in our family ain't soft.' Yet softness may be the very characteristic that saves Juicy's life, as is demonstrated by a poignant late scene between him and his cousin Larry (Corey Montague-Sholay), an upstanding young Marine whose feelings for Juicy may not be strictly heterosexual. Shakespeare's Act Five showdown between Laertes and Hamlet this is not. 'If you quote that dead old white man one more time…' grumbles Tedra when Juicy mentions Hamlet yet again, and she interrupts him mid-soliloquy to wonder what he is telling 'them' – that is us, the audience – about her. Further development of this strand of self-referential playfulness would be most welcome and would provide Sideeq Heard's production with a firmer basis. As it is, these 100 minutes appear something of a grab-bag of under-developed ideas, although I did enjoy the substitution of a karaoke machine for Shakespeare's troupe of travelling players. Juicy's song of choice is Radiohead's Creep, with the lyrics 'What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here'. Hamlet himself would most definitely have approved the selection.
