A theater has been criticized for issuing a “woke” warning over a Charles Dickens play, alerting audience members to its Victorian-era insults.
The Bromley Little Theatre, in south-east London, is offering guidance along with its new adaptation of author Nicholas Nickleby’s 1839 novel, saying it contains “Dickensian insults”.
A content warning on the theater’s website also tells people that the production includes “abuse (physical, emotional, child), violence, suicide, murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, mental illness (and) sexism.”
The original book includes insults from the Victorian era, such as the words “shameless,” “ass,” and “queer.”
The same theater previously warned audiences that its version of Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre included “arson.”
But critics have accused bosses of going too far in flagging potential concerns.
Conservative MP Sir John Hayes said: “Dickens is full, by definition, of Victorian insults, because it reflected the workers’ language of the time.”
‘Dickens’ novels were an exploration of the human condition in all its splendor and all its horrors. It was full of wit and social commentary.’
Bromley Little Theatre’s production of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby comes with content warnings about the use of Victorian-era ‘slurs’.
Charles Dickens (pictured) published the original novel in 1839; was adapted for the stage, as used in the latter production, by Tony Award-winning playwright David Edgar in 1980.
Warnings to audience members were shared on Bromley Little Theater websites.
The MP for South Holland and Deepings, in Lincolnshire, told the Sun: ‘To produce a vanilla-flavored version of Charles Dickens’ work is to contradict the meaning of the writer’s work.
“Anyone who sees this has every right to ask what’s going on with Dickens.”
Bromley Little Theatre’s production of Dickens’s novel, in its 1980 adaptation by Tony Award-winning playwright David Edgar, ran from December 4-14.
The theater’s website has a “Content Warnings” page, which includes Nicholas Nickleby’s entry, “Language: Some ‘Dickensian’ Insults,” as well as the “Abuse” list.
It also warns visitors that “effects” include “loud noises, gunshots and fog.”
The guide to its September production of Jane Eyre states: “Some of the language and opinions reflect the period in history in which the original book was written.”
The entry goes on to say that “Themes and Triggers” include “Child Abuse and Death, Mental Illness, Arson.”
After coming under fire for content warnings over Nicholas Nickleby’s production, Bromley Little Theater has issued a defiant statement on its website.
Nicholas Nickleby’s production was staged at Bromley Little Theater (pictured) this month.
Says: ‘We’re delighted to have been branded ‘woke’ for our decision to provide content warnings for all our productions, including our latest festive epic: Nicholas Nickleby.
‘We would like to correct the suggestion that we present a watered down or “vanilla” version of this Dickens classic: our interpretation of David Edgar’s two-part adaptation remained faithful to the original, including scenes depicting sexual assault, child abuse, and suicide.
‘We remain firm in our belief that the opinions held in some histories written at different times were wrong then and are wrong now.
‘But rather than erasing these stories, we will continue to present them in their original form. This honors the playwrights, the stories and the past. It also encourages conversation and debate.
‘Content warnings are important for those who are eager to watch our shows or want to avoid certain topics, making BLT a safe and inclusive space for our community.
“The warnings are available on our website for those who choose to read them.”
The statement urged people to book tickets for shows planned for 2025, with “content warnings coming soon”, including Agatha Christie’s A Mirror Crack’d, which “will contain at least one murder” and The Full Monty, which has ” Guaranteed nudity.”
MailOnline has contacted Bromley Little Theater for further comment.
The theater shared scenes from the production in a video trailer posted publicly on YouTube.
Guidance on this new version by Nicholas Nickleby follows similar ‘content warnings’ attached to Dickens adaptations and other productions.
In October it emerged that ITV was warning viewers that Sir David Lean’s celebrated 1948 film adaptation of Dickens’ Oliver Twist contained “language from a bygone era”.
Meanwhile, the University of Nottingham was criticized for “degrading education” by putting a warning on Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales for containing “expressions of the Christian faith”.
Frank Furedi, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent, said: ‘Warning students of Chaucer about Christian expressions of faith is strange.
‘Since all the characters in the stories are immersed in a Christian experience, there are likely to be many expressions of faith. The problem is not the aspiring student readers of Chaucer but the ignorant, virtue-signaling academics.
The Mail On Sunday previously revealed in February 2022 that Leeds University governors had applied ‘content warnings’ to dozens of works studied by university students on their English courses, including Tarzan, Black Beauty and Robinson Crusoe.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1912 classic, Tarzan of the Apes, came with a warning that the story of an orphaned boy raised by primates contains “expressions of racism.”
Students were also warned that Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel Black Beauty contains “depictions of cruelty to animals.”
Pictured is a scene from Bromley Little Theatre’s recent Nicholas Nickleby production.
And Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe was also singled out because it “discusses race and slavery” as well as the “typical attitudes of its time.”
Earlier this year, London’s Globe Theater issued a warning that Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra contained “depictions of suicide, violence and war.”
Theatergoers were also warned that the play, which starred Elizabeth Taylor in a 1963 film adaptation, discriminated against black women as it featured references to misogynoir, a combination of “misogyny” and “noir.”
A Globe production of Julius Caesar, depicting the Roman dictator’s fatal stabbing, previously warned audiences that the play would include “depictions of war, self-harm and suicide, stage blood and weapons, including knives.”
And a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, also at London’s South Bank theatre, warned that Shakespeare’s play contained “language of violence, sexual references, misogyny and racism”.