A theatre has been ridiculed for placing a trigger warning on a new production of The Sound Of Music.
Chichester Festival Theatre is warning patrons that some of them may find “certain themes distressing.”
According to The Times:
Based on the true story of the von Trapp family, The Sound of Music centres on Maria, a young Austrian novice who is sent by her convent to the home of a retired naval officer and becomes governess to his seven children.
When Austria is occupied by the Nazis, the family flees Salzburg and hikes across the Alps to safety in Switzerland.
The story was turned into a Broadway musical in 1959 by the composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Oscar Hammerstein and was then adapted into the classic film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
Chichester Festival Theatre’s production will run from July 10 to September 3, with the West End actress Gina Beck in the role of Maria.
The theatre said the play contained themes of “music; family; romance; the threat of Nazi Germany and the annexation of Austria”.
It is the latest example of a cultural institution using trigger warnings, or content notes as they are sometimes referred to, to tell people about difficult subjects they might encounter.
The writer and broadcaster Rabbi Jonathan Romain, who leads Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, described such warnings as “incredibly patronising”. He said they did a “disservice” to the audience.
“They are almost warning them off from learning about things that may be unpleasant but are certainly real and make up the world,” he said.
“They also seem to be incredibly patronising and sort of dismissing the resilience that people have. There are many terrible tragedies, but human endurance and resilience is actually quite remarkable”….
A spokeswoman for Chichester Festival Theatre said: “We include general guidance on content and themes (not trigger warnings) on our website for all our productions, for audiences and, in the case of The Sound of Music, particularly for parents to make informed decisions about age suitability.
Of course theatre can and should be challenging; but, for a family musical, we’re giving honest and factual guidance, for those who require it, that the show contains serious themes as well as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s glorious songs and uplifting story.”
