‘Woke’ theatre issues trigger warning for Charles Dickens play over Victorian-era insults and sexism – ‘It’s a vanilla-flavoured version!’

A “woke” theatre has issued a trigger warning for its performance of a Charles Dickens play due to Victorian-era insults and sexism.

Theatre goers were warned that the adaptation of the novel Nicholas Nickleby contained “Dickensian slurs” at Bromley Little Theatre, south east London.

The adaptation – which tells the story of Nicholas supporting his family after his father’s death – included “violence, suicide, murder, sexual assault, kidnap, mental illness and sexism”.

Hitting out at the “woke” warnings, Conservative MP Sir John Hayes said: “Dickens is full of, by definition, Victorian slurs, because it was reflecting the language of working people at the time.

“Dickens’ novels were an exploration of the human condition in all of its glory and all of its horrors. It was full of wit and social commentary.

“To produce a vanilla-flavoured version of Charles Dickens’ work is to contradict the meaning of the writer’s work.

“Anyone who sees this is fully entitled to ask what the Dickens is going on.”

Further performances of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre at the theatre made similar warnings, which “reflects the period in which the book was written”, The Sun reports.

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The theatre has said that it wanted to support audiences to “make informed decisions about productions”.

This latest “woke” London theatre trigger warning follows a caution from the English National Opera for “alcohol misuse” during a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.

The warning was referring to a scene which included one glass of sherry.

In the past, Dame Judi Dench has criticised such warnings, saying: “I can see why they exist, but if you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre, because you could be very shocked. Where is the surprise of seeing and understanding it in your own way?”

In the past, Dench has criticised such warnings, saying: “I can see why they exist, but if you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre, because you could be very shocked. Where is the surprise of seeing and understanding it in your own way?”

Similarly, actor Ralph Fiennes has said: “We didn’t used to have trigger warnings. There are very disturbing scenes in Macbeth, terrible murders and things, but I think the impact of theatre is that you should be shocked and you should be disturbed.”

Meanwhile, Ian McKellen called the warnings “ludicrous”, adding that theatre requires the element of surprise.

“I think it’s ludicrous,” he said. “I quite like to be surprised by loud noises and outrageous behaviour on stage.”