Dame Judi Dench has had about enough of the “trigger warnings” that often accompany films and theatrical productions.
Dench, 91, played MI6 chief “M” in eight consecutive James Bond films — and she told her friend and writing partner Brendan O’Hea that she believes the warnings have gone too far and often risk ruining the entire theater experience.
“I think they have gone too far. It’s mollycoddling. If you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre,” she said during the interview for her memoir “Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?” Dench went on to explain that she believed some of the best theater productions intentionally pushed audiences out of their comfort zones.
“By all means keep the warnings about strobe lighting and gunshots, and obviously there should be age limits for children, but that’s about it,” she said. “Otherwise, where will it end? The trigger warnings before ‘Titus Andronicus’ would be longer than the play.”
“And if you overdo the warnings, doesn’t it take away from the audience’s enjoyment of the story?” she asked. “Do you tell them that the butler did it in an Agatha Christie play so as not to shock them? Besides, in the safety of a theatre or cinema, I want to be triggered, excited, stimulated, provoked and disturbed, to be taken out of my comfort zone. Isn’t that what makes theatre and films so thrilling?”
Dench concluded with the obvious question: Where would the trigger warnings stop and who would decide what might require one?
“And who knows what might trigger people? Balloons, clowns, buttons … I have a friend who doesn’t like bananas,” the actress recalled. “She feels physically sick every time she sees one. Should supermarkets put up warning signs in the fruit and veg aisle? It drives me wild.”
Dench’s memoir is set for a late October release in the United Kingdom and will be on shelves in the United States on November 3.
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