By AYAAT YASSIN-KASSAB

Published: 01:14 GMT, 18 February 2025 | Updated: 01:19 GMT, 18 February 2025

A Three Little Pigs theatre production has come under fire after issuing a trigger warning alerting audiences that the father gets eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.

The content alert went up on Chichester Festival Theatre’s online advertisement of the play, warning that the veteran fairy tale ‘has a passing reference to Father Pig being gobbled by the Big Bad Wolf.’

Parents buying tickets for the show, intended for children between three and seven, have called the pointless warning ‘patronising’.

Tim Scott of the Freedom Association told The Sun: ‘This nonsense is all too typical of taking life far too seriously. I say hands off.’

He pointed out that the plot of the 172-year-old children’s story is already well-known.

And father of two Vaz Sayed, 52, slammed the obvious warning as ‘laughable’, saying: ‘It’s less Big Bad Wolf and more Big Bad Woke!’

But this is not the first time the overly cautious theatre has been the subject of criticism.

It previously issued a Nazi Germany trigger warning when advertising a production of The Sound of Music.

A Three Little Pigs theatre production has come under fire after issuing a trigger warning alerting audiences that the father gets eaten by the Big Bad Wolf

Parents buying tickets for the show, intended for children between three and seven, have called the pointless warning 'patronising'

Parents buying tickets for the show, intended for children between three and seven, have called the pointless warning ‘patronising’

And various acting greats have echoed the public sentiment of frustration, with Sir Ian McKellen having condemned ‘ludicrous’ content warnings in productions.

At the end of last year, Bromley Little Theatre in southeast London was criticised for issuing a ‘woke’ trigger warning on a Charles Dickens play, alerting audience members about its Victorian-era insults.

The theatre gave the guidance alongside its newest adaptation of the author’s 1839 novel Nicholas Nickleby – saying it contained ‘Dickensian slurs’.

A content warning on the theatre’s website also told people that the production included ‘abuse (physical, emotional, child), violence, suicide, murder, sexual assault, kidnap, mental illness and sexism’.

The original book includes Victorian-era slurs such as the words ‘hussy’, ‘ass’ and ‘queer’.

The same theatre previously warned audiences that its version of Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre included ‘arson’.  

Days ago, however, Disney began ditching its content warnings on family favourites such as Dumbo and Peter Pan.

The American entertainment behemoth became the latest to quietly tweak disclaimers on its decades-old films in the wake of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Disney is reported to be watering down its current disclaimers on films featuring ethic stereotypes or themes of racism, or ‘negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures’ in favour of milder warnings.

Those currently carrying alerts include the Jungle Book. The 1967 adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s novel has been criticised for its depiction of the ape King Louie.

Dumbo also carries a warning on the basis that the 1941 picture references  racist segregationist laws in the deep south and uses affected African-American voices.

Peter Pan, 1953, which features controversial depictions of Native American Indians, is also on the list.

But they will soon be accompanied by shortened descriptions, stating simply: ‘This programme is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions,’ it was reported.

:
Parents blast theatre after Three Little Pigs children’s show is given ‘trigger warning’ that father is eaten by wolf

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk