Triggered by trigger warnings

The latest production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth comes with trigger warnings longer than an act in one of the Bard’s plays.

Bojana Novakovic in the Malthouse Theatre production of Macbeth. Picture: Supplied

Shame on the Malthouse Theatre. There is no point dillydallying or polishing my words. If people like these ran the country we would be stuffed. They shouldn’t be running a theatre in Melbourne, either.

Their latest production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth comes with trigger warnings longer than an act in one of the Bard’s plays. I’m writing about it now because the Macbeth production finishes this weekend and I’m not in the business of creating business for these people.

Their warnings are set out below – in full – so you can understand how crazy these people are, how crazy we are if we normalise this by letting it slide without comment. The message from the Malthouse people is that we, the people, are weak, our modern society can’t cope with the vicissitudes of life, that resilience is for past generations.

Given their warnings are part of a growing trend, this is something that our geopolitical enemies will want to know about the wilting West.

On their website, the Malthouse Theatre people warn that their production of Macbeth “contains coarse language, explicit depiction of violence and blood, sexual references, discussion of warfare, discussion of infanticide, misogyny, occasional drinking and smoking, references to death or dying, references to mental illness and depictions of ableism, occasional use of prop weapons, loud and dynamic sound and smoke effects.”

The Malthouse’s self-appointed protection unit is not done. They include detailed warnings and content descriptions including a list of four-letter words used on stage, along with a count: “F..k (9)”; “Shit (5)”; and so on.

Johnny Carr and Bojana Novakovic. Picture: Mark Stewart

The website warns about explicit depictions of violence and blood: “There are several moments of choreographed violence between actors, including but not limited to, a murder through stabbing.” And this: “Heavy and frequent use of stage blood in both costume, set design and performance. There is a particular character who is covered in blood head-to-toe in the beginning scenes of the play.”

Under “sexual references” we are warned that “there are two moments of simulated intimacy where two characters kiss passionately and furtively fondle one another, and one in which a character straddles their seated (and clothed) partner. There is no nudity and all onstage intimacy has been choreographed by an Intimacy Coordinator.”

I am not making this up. Under the heading “discussions of warfare” we are warned that “This is a play about treachery and war and therefore warfare is heavily discussed amongst the characters throughout the entire work, including but not limited to war crimes, murder, treason, infanticide, hostages and revenge killing. There is depiction of restrained hostages using rope, mouth gags as well as threat of suffocation via a bag placed on top of a character’s head.”

There are more warnings on infanticide, too: “Lady Macbeth speaks to Macbeth about her loyalty, saying ‘I know how tender it is to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked the nipple from its boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this’.” We are warned that “Macbeth questions Lady Macbeth about why ‘all (their) children die’. It is unclear whether these were miscarriages or infant deaths, but he suggests these deaths were her fault. In the closing scenes of the work, MacDuff accuses Lady Macbeth of ordering the murder of Lady MacDuff’s infant. This case of infanticide is only spoken about, not enacted on stage.”

Stay with me. Please. It is important that we understand how timid we have become if we accept this. The Malthouse people include a warning about “misogynistic narratives placed on the character of Lady Macbeth including but not limited to accusations of hysteria”.

If you want to know why the culture wars continue to rage, read on. We are warned, in detail, about the “occasional depiction of the consumption of alcohol on the stage, including the heavy intoxication of guests attending a party. The actor playing Carlin smokes a pipe on stage.”

The saving grace is their warnings are so detailed, one need not see the play. We are warned that Macbeth includes “references to death or dying … Death is a key theme of this play”. The Malthouse people list all the characters who die off stage. They warn us that Macbeth admits to killing Duncan with a poison drink. Another warning: “The death of Macbeth occurs on stage.”

The Malthouse people assure us that “all stage violence has been choreographed by a fight director”.

We’re warned that there are “frequent references to ‘going mad’ and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth grapple with being of sound mind. Lady Macbeth is accused of going through hysteria.”

There are more warnings. But, to be honest, after reading this website and retyping it for you, I’m up for some violence, a dash of hysteria, a strong drink and a smoke. We have myriad medications, different forms of therapy and a growing focus on how to address mental illness.

But how on earth do we treat this illness of the mind evident among those responsible for the Malthouse warnings?

This is Shakespeare, where dark things happened. The Bard’s plays resonate down the centuries because dark things still happen to people. People do wicked, horrible things to each other. Humanity is not the name of a Disney movie.

This is a modern retelling of Macbeth, to be sure. So slap an MA rating on it if you must. Their disser­tation of warnings infantilises us.

Every period of human history has featured war, natural disasters and unnatural cruelty, wicked people and shocking immorality. That these things happen enable us to recognise and give thanks for their opposites. Without the full gamut of these opposites and all the states between, life would be a bland blancmange – there would be no drama, no tragedy, no romance. Shakespeare would have written Hallmark cards.

We’re drawn to watching, learning about, gasping out loud at these parts of our complex nature. We must be able to cope with depictions of war, death, drinking, smoking, with a bloke smoking a cigar, for goodness sake, even a shocking stereotype about a hysterical woman.

Those who can’t cope should steer clear of Shakespeare. They had better tune out of the American election, too – along with life. They will have zero hope of understanding why a man named Donald Trump has managed to take over America’s Grand Old Party – and is hurtling towards victory in November if polls remain the same. These same people won’t get why his running mate, JD Vance, is a hit with his message of resilience and responsibility.

Trump’s success is driven by many factors. One is the overreach by self-appointed paternalistic preachers of wokeness who have a dim and dismal view of us. Across politics, education, the arts, people in charge of some areas of our lives believe we are weak. Worse, they want us to be weak. That gives them power over us.

Let them live in la-la land, and wear the shame of trying to infantilise us, while the rest of us prepare for life.