A THEATRE slapped a trigger warning on a Charles Dickens play — as it features Victorian-era insults and sexism.
Audience members were cautioned that the adaptation of the 1839 novel Nicholas Nickleby contained “Dickensian slurs”.
Charles Dickens and his classic Nicholas Nickleby
The woke alert from Bromley Little Theatre, South East London, last night sparked scorn.
It also said the play — which sees impoverished Nicholas supporting his mother and sister when his father dies — had “violence, suicide, murder, sexual assault, kidnap, mental illness and sexism”.
Tory MP Sir John Hayes fumed: “Dickens is full of, by definition, Victorian slurs, because it was reflecting the language of working people at the time.
“Dickens’ novels were an exploration of the human condition in all of its glory and all of its horrors. It was full of wit and social commentary.
“To produce a vanilla-flavoured version of Charles Dickens’ work is to contradict the meaning of the writer’s work.
“Anyone who sees this is fully entitled to ask what the Dickens is going on.”
The book has words including “hussy”, “ass” and “queer”.
Similar warnings were made for Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, which “reflects the period in which the book was written”.
The theatre said it wants to help audiences “make informed decisions about productions”.
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