Poll: Theatre Industry Ratings
Recently on The Drama Teacher, I opened a poll on the vexing question of whether the theatre industry should have ratings for shows in order to better inform their audiences in advance regarding suitability. Movies have ratings. Video games have ratings. Even music has ratings. So why not theatre shows? This would inherently be problematic considering the live and immediate nature of theatre, but that doesn’t make the argument to introduce live theatre ratings any less valid.
This poll was inspired by earlier posts questioning the need for live theatre ratings and classifications. Most drama teachers I know have had a scary experience or two taking their students to a theatre show that, once everyone was seated, ended up being unsuitable for the students in some way (nudity, heavy themes, violence, profanity). Yes, it is the teacher’s responsibility to check whether the show is suitable before attending, but sometimes even with the best of intentions things go wrong.
The poll regarding theatre ratings can be found at the bottom of each page on The Drama Teacher for a limited time. Scroll down ↓. Vote now and have your say!
This poll has now closed.
I’ve also been in that position. Despite the Edinburgh Fringe having an age recommendation in their programme – Adam and Eve – The Musical WAS appropriate for young-ish teenagers and up, but as part of an international summer school I was worried that some protected children (or their parents) might feel it had gone a little too far.
The reason I voted ‘no’ was because of my fear that people might feel they had to declare the odd swear word, and that children – especially on school trips – might end up only being permitted to see very sanitised Disney-esque shows – whose capitalist, consumerist values I would consider even less suitable for children!!