National Theatre's new boss: Our plays won't tell you what to think
This is to promote Rubasingham's staging of Euripides' great tragedy The Bacchae. It launches her reign at the National with what she promises to be 'wild anarchic energy' in a new rap version by the actor Nima Taleghani. Who, incidentally, has never written a play before.
And the other trailer? It shows the Sri Lankan actor Hiran Abeysekera, dressed in Jacobean ruff and declaiming, 'To be or not
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Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Now Hamlet issues trigger warning that Shakespeare classic contains 'coercive' behaviour
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. 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".'
Belfast Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Travel Review: Sri Lanka's traditional Kandyan dance perfectly encapsulates the passion, creativity and resilience of its people
A barefooted boy saunters to the front of the hall, holding a two-headed geta beraya drum that almost spans his entire frame. His focused and determined face suggests a maturity beyond his teenage years. He closes his eyes and inhales. This morning, I'm joining pupils at Madyama Lanka Nruthya Mandalaya — a cultural academy hidden in the mountains outside Amunugama. Together, we watch the drummer's bare hands crash down onto the barrel-shaped instrument, heralding the start of our class in traditional Kandyan dance — a hypnotic art form that originated nearby in Kandy, the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings.
Scottish Sun
20 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
More woke madness as theatre-goers warned to expect ‘coercive' behaviour in Hamlet
Bosses at the National Theatre in London deemed it necessary to warn fans in case anyone paying up to £89 for tickets are triggered TOO PC OR NOT TO PC? TOO PC OR NOT TO PC? More woke madness as theatre-goers warned to expect 'coercive' behaviour in Hamlet Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THEATRE-goers have been warned to expect 'coercive' behaviour in Hamlet — a play more than 400 years old. Producers have also flagged up grief, suicide, mental illness and parental loss in Shakespeare's to-be-or-not-to-be epic. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Theatre-goers have been warned to expect coercive behaviour in a Shakespeare play over 400 years old Credit: Getty 2 Woke theatre bosses warned the audience: 'This production contains themes of grief and death, including suicide and the loss of a parent' Credit: Alamy The tale of the Prince of Denmark's madness after his father's murder is a bloodfest, with six characters croaking in the final scene alone. Bosses at the National Theatre in London deemed it necessary to warn fans in case anyone paying up to £89 for tickets is triggered. They said of Shakespeare's longest play: 'This production contains themes of grief and death, including suicide and the loss of a parent, depictions of madness, violence, and coercive behaviour.' Online resource says of the body count: 'It is a well-known fact that Shakespeare's tragedies normally conclude in death, and Hamlet, written in 1600 to 1601, is no exception. "The last scene alone reveals the death of six different characters, and that is after the death of Hamlet's father, Polonius, and Ophelia in earlier scenes.' In June, London's Globe Theatre warned of guns and suicide in a Wild West version of Romeo and Juliet. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon also issued a warning about Macbeth in 2023. It included 'scenes of war, violence, and death including execution, suicide, violence against children, murder and domestic, emotional and physical abuse'. There were also 'special effects including flashing lights, strobe lights, loud noises, haze, fire effects, smoking and gunshots'.
