Judi Dench says theatre and film trigger warnings have 'gone too far'

Right · 2Dame Judi Dench, 91, has said trigger warnings before theatre and film productions have 'gone too far' and amount to 'mollycoddling' audiences. 1 2 Right · 1The comments come from an extract of Dench's memoir, 'Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?', published by The Times magazine, in which Dench speaks to Brendan O'Hea. 1 Right · 2Dench said: 'If you're that sensitive, don't go to the theatre,' but would keep warnings about strobe lighting and gunshots and age limits for children, adding 'that's about it'. 1 2

Right · 2Dench asked where it would end, joking that warnings before Titus Andronicus 'would be longer than the play', and asked whether overdoing them takes away from the audience's enjoyment, for instance by revealing that the butler did it in an Agatha Christie play. 1 2 Right · 2Dench said that in the safety of a theatre or cinema they want to be 'triggered, excited, stimulated, provoked and disturbed', and questioned what might trigger people: 'Balloons, clowns, buttons', or a friend who feels sick at the sight of bananas, asking whether supermarkets should put up warning signs. 1 2 Right · 1Fox News said Dench made similar remarks in a 2024 interview, when Dench said they could see why warnings exist and that they prepare people, but that those who are too sensitive should not go to the theatre. Fox News Digital said it had asked Dench's representative for comment. 2

Right · 1Fox News also quoted film critic Christian Toto, who called it a 'sad state of affairs' that Dench's comments would be considered surprising, but praised them: 'Art is meant to challenge us.' 2 Right · 1The memoir extract also covers ageing: Dench dislikes questions about retirement, says words like 'retire', 'vintage' and 'old' should be banished, and says they loathe being called a 'national treasure'. The Daily Mail added that Dench has had age-related macular degeneration since 2012 and learns lines with friends reading scripts aloud. 1